Deerfield area, transportation to downtown Chicago

I%26#39;ve reserved a hotel room in Deerfield in July 2007, the Metra station is nearby and travels to Union Station. How long will the Metra trip be, and will it be a huge hassle to catch a bus or train to get downtown Chicago area from Union station? I%26#39;m trying to avoid the high prices and parking costs associated with downtown Chicago. Should I stick with Deerfield ($80 a night)or does someone have a better idea a little closer to downtown Chicago in a safe area? We are driving from Kansas.

Deerfield area, transportation to downtown Chicago

You%26#39;ll be close to the Lake-Cook Road stop on this line

http://metrarail.com/Sched/md_n/md_n.shtml

Travel times vary. During rush hours, look for the express trains that are 10-15 minutes faster than the regular trains.

Union Station is in downtown Chicago. It%26#39;s on the west side of the Loop, while the museums and Michigan Avenue are on the east side. The Art Institute is straight east on Adams, just about a mile%26#39;s walk.. To go to north Michigan Avenue, you can take the 151 bus from Union Station (www.transitchicago.com), or the water taxi , which is much more fun (www.shoreline.com)

Your rate in Deerfield is really good. You could look in Skokie for a closer-in hotel, but I doubt if you%26#39;ll get a lower rate. And the public transportation isn%26#39;t any faster, strangely enough.

Deerfield area, transportation to downtown Chicago

I think I%26#39;m confused. The CTA is deifferent from the Metra, right? I had thought about purchasing a CTA pass. Should I get a Metra and CTA pass? Where can I find info on parking if we choose to drive in a little closer and catch the CTA without using the Metra?

%26lt;%26lt;I think I%26#39;m confused. The CTA is deifferent from the Metra, right? I had thought about purchasing a CTA pass. Should I get a Metra and CTA pass? Where can I find info on parking if we choose to drive in a little closer and catch the CTA without using the Metra?%26gt;%26gt;

The CTA is different and separate from the Metra. Union Station is on the West side of the Loop; from there you can walk to the Art Institute, Sears Tower and Millennium Park, which aren%26#39;t terribly far. However, for things further out, you may want to take the CTA.

The Metra pass or not will depend on the length of your stay. If you are staying on a weekend, you can get a weekend pass that will offer unlimited rides for Saturday and Sunday on Metra only. If you are staying for a longer period, then you may want to consider a 10-ride pass, which is a 10-ride punch card, which saves you 15% off buying 10 1-way tickets. If you are traveling with others, a whole party could use a 10-ride (you just tell the conductor to punch 1 for each person in your party.

transitchicago.com is the CTA website. You%26#39;d have to drive a fair distance to the nearest CTA station; I don%26#39;t think it%26#39;s worth it versus parking at a nearby Metra and taking that train in.

The closest (and only) CTA train station in Skokie is the Skokie Swift (yellow line) train. There%26#39;s plenty of parking there. It%26#39;s $2 per day.

Take a look at rates at the Hampton Inn, Extended Stay America, Doubletree, and Comfort Inn. All are in Skokie.

Metra does not have multi-day passes like the CTA. They have monthly passes (calendar month only), and $5 unlimited ride weekend passes. But they do offer a 10-ride ticket that costs ~15% less than 10 one-ways. It can be shared by multiple riders; they just punch out one of the 10 spots for each passenger/trip. You can buy a 10-ride at any station that sells tickets, when open. But if you%26#39;re traveling at off hours, the station ticket windows are likely to be closed (except downtown) and on the train you can only buy one one-way per person. If the station IS open, buy your ticket there, because they%26#39;ll charge you $2 per person per ticket extra to buy your ticket on the train IF you could have bought one at your boarding station.

Metra and CTA (and suburban buses called ';Pace';) are all under an umbrella agency called the Regional Transit Authority (RTA). But the systems are pretty much independent of one another. I think CTA fare cards work on Pace buses, but there is no interoperability between CTA and Metra: separate tickets, separate fare structure. The only exception is a commuter-oriented ';link up pass'; where you get a monthly Metra ticket + a CTA pass, which is only good at rush hour. It%26#39;s aimed at commuters who need to get that last mile or two from the downtown train station to work. But that%26#39;s not something that would be useful for you.

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