CTA trains and buses (Chicago, Arlington Heights: renting, house, calculated) - Illinois (IL) - City-Data Forum

lesliead · 10-23-2009, 01:04 AM

Hi - We are relocating to Chicago next month and I am trying to figure out my commute to the Northwest suburbs where we'll be renting a house. I have to get home by a certain time, so have to be sure to catch a particular METRA train. The "Plan Your Trip" website gives me the following:

1. CTA Red Line dep. 4:26pm, arr. 4:31pm
2. CTA bus, dep. 4:37pm, arr 4:44pm
3. Metra train dep. 4:48pm

Is this really even feasible? How is it possible to get off a bus at 4:44pm and get to my train inside Union Station in 4 minutes?

Also, do the CTA trains really run on a schedule? I used to live in New York and, there, the trains came when they came. Do the CTAs stick to a schedule? I MUST be home to pick up my child by a certain time (or I have to pay $25 for every 15 minutes I'm late) and am wondering if this schedule is possible/reliable or whether I really should just take a cab to Union Station every day (which is also very pricey).

Thanks in advance.

Drover · 10-23-2009, 01:07 AM

CTA's idea of a "schedule" is "the train will arrive every 4 to 7 minutes from this time to this time, and then it will arrive every 10 to 15 minutes from this time to this time..." You can typically count on decent frequency during peak travel times.

Metra trains on the other hand usually depart/arrive within a couple minutes of their stated schedules barring such things as mechanical problems and freight train interference and the like. Four minutes is an awfully tight connection window -- don't bet on it.

It would also help to know where you're commuting from and where to, etc. as we may be able to suggest alternatives.

lesliead · 10-23-2009, 01:31 AM

Thanks! I am travelling from near the Chicago stop on the Red Line to Buffalo Grove (or can do Deerfield if needed, for more options).

I have to be back in BG by 5:45pm.

Cheers,
Leslie

Drover · 10-23-2009, 01:37 AM

Wow, that's kind of a rough commute by any method, be it plane, train, automobile, hovercraft or horseback. Too many variables in between to count on a consistent travel time by any method. Wish I had better news for you... any chance your work start/end time is at least a little flexible?

chet everett · 10-23-2009, 05:50 AM

Not feasible to count on the El getting you to STATIONS that are 5 minutes apart and then getting on BUS 6 minutes later and then getting on METRA a scant 4 minutes later. Just NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!!!

The El stations, be they subway or above ground platforms are NOT well laid out and frequently jam up. That assume that the El leaves / arrives at the "window" supposedly calculated too, and as Drover said is more a ROUGH seven minute window. No way to schedule that close -- sometimes the shear bulk of winter clothing delays loading!!

Buses have to FIGHT TRAFFIC and worse they OFTEN 'bunch up" with two or more stacked on each other's bumpers as traffice signals and/or congestion make it impossible for them to maintain spacing.

Once they get to the Metra station you have to got up or down to the trains. That involves flights of escalatores and/ or pedestrain walkways that stretch over several blocks. The Metra trains are pretty close to SWISS PRECISION when they LEAVE the station and they WAIT FOR NO ONE! No way to get off bus and on train in a consistent way that does not allow for more slack time on the BUS side...

You need a better plan!

gregr072 · 10-23-2009, 09:49 AM

I definitely wouldn't plan on that schedule. The biggest problem I see for you, is there is no easy way to get from Union Station to the Chicago Aven area. There are buses that run between the two areas though, and that may be a better option for you than the train to the bus to union station. If your workplace was closer to Union Station you could make something work. But there are too many variables in this commute to be consistent.

A cab is probably $10ish.

Good Luck.

gregr072 · 10-23-2009, 09:52 AM

One other thing, if you haven't rented a house yet, you may want to look at some areas closer to the city that have easier access to the red line. Skokie comes to mind because they have an express train to the Howard Station and you could get on another express train downtown.

Good Luck.

Johnny Northside · 10-23-2009, 10:00 AM

From anywhere along Chicago Ave/upper Mag Mile, you'd have to allow at least 30 mins to get to Union Station via the CTA (though sometimes you'll be "lucky" to make your connections and get there in 15-20 mins)-- and more in poor weather if there's a bus involved.

Chicago60614 · 10-23-2009, 10:22 AM

Think about taking the 125 bus from north michigan to Union Station. Taking a Red Line down to the loop and then crawling through the loop on a bus is going to take awhile. The #125 might make you go to Michigan - but at least you aren't right in the heart of rush hour in the loop...on a bus.

As far as the schedule, the CTA buses do "run" on a schedule, but honestly if a bus downtown comes at the time that's on the schedule - it's a coincidence. The only time buses every do anything regarding a schedule, is if they happen to be running ahead of their specific time on that route. Then the POS's actually pull over at stop lights and will stand for a minute or two to get in line with their "schedule".

It makes me furious as well, because 90% of the time they're either on schedule or running late. I mean if a bus comes every 10 minutes, no one is going to walk to say Belmont and Ashland and actually expect a bus to come RIGHT at 3:42pm. So stupid they sit with a bus full of people and just idle on the side of the road because "we're early".

I always complain when they do this - it just makes the entire bus unhappy and fussy.

SJaye · 10-23-2009, 02:13 PM

Where did you get the idea that there was a 4:48 train to Buffalo Grove? On that line, the trains arrive at 4:25 and 5:01 (there is a 4:58, but it skips the BG stop). You can check the schedule yourself at Metra Home. Unless you can get to the train by 4:25, you will not be home by 5:45. You can go to Deerfield if you want, they have more options on that line (4:40, 4:45, 4:48, 5:12), but the traffic returning from the Deerfield station on Deerfield Rd. is HORRENDOUS. It may take you half an hour to do the drive. Consider either commuting out of the Lake-Cook Road station on that line (there is more parking there too), or even the train out of Arlington Heights. It may appear farther away on a map, but because there is no juntion with a major highway (Deerfield Rd. and Lake Cook Rd. both junction I-94 creating craploads of traffic from people who work in Glenview) the ride may be shorter depending on where in BG you are going to be living.