Union Station to ORD
 

What are the options in terms of getting from Untion Station to ORD? Week day around 3pm.
Thanks

How much are you shlepping?

How fast do you need to arrive at your terminal?

How many people travelling?

How old are the people travelling?

One person, my father, who is in his mid-60's. Probably no rush arriving (assuming the train arrives on time). He's scheduled to have 5 hours or so. Shlepping one wheel bag.

Pops can take a city cab (metered), suburban cab (cheaper fixed price, reserved ahead only) or this.

PM if you need more.

The other question is how much does he want to spend?

If he's doing it on the cheap, like I would, cab it over to the Jackson St. Blue Line station, and take the Blue Line to ORD. Cab maybe $5, train fare $2.25. Time, about an hour

Cab will be about $40, and depending on traffic, 30-75 minutes.

Least expensive:

Walk 1-2 blocks South on Clinton to the Clinton stop on the Blue Line, the train will take you directly to ORD in 45-60 minutes.

$2.25

Pops won't like the stairs with the wheelie.

Friends don't let friends' dads get herniated or mugged to save a few baht.

A safe assumption more or less if he is arriving on a Metra (commuter rail) train. Not safe if Amtrak.

The Jackson CTA stop says it is handicapped accessible on the map. Since the blue line is a subway at Jackson, I would assume this means an elevator though I could be wrong. Clark/Lake, in the Thompson Center, is pretty certain to have an elevator. But don't hold me to any of this, since I don't pay attention to what stops have elevators or not.

A suburban cab can't legally do that route, both ends are in the city.

OP, you probably have some idea of whether your dad will be comfortable in the city and with public transit or not. If he will be and can do the stairs, walking to the train is fine. Ignore the post about him getting mugged to save a few bucks, it's rush hour, it won't happen. If the stairs are not good, but the train is, cab to Jackson/Dearborn or Clark/Lake (handicap-accessible does mean elevators).

If he won't be comfortable or has mobility issues, then either cab or Airport Express is a fine option.

The other thing to mention is that he has time to sightsee (thought of this due to the threads we get here asking if X is enough of a layover at ORD to go into the city). I'd allow 75 mins to get to the airport plus whatever time he needs at the airport (ie 90 if checking bags, 120 if int'l, etc). So, if the train is on time, that 5 hours gives him a little time to wander around if he so desires.

They can if you call them and reserve one.

No, they can't. Under city ordinance, only city cabs can do that. If you check the websites of the big ones like American, you'll notice they publish rates between various burbs and ORD/MDW/downtown, but not between any of them. Notably, the fastest route (most of the time) between ORD and MDW is 294/55, outside city limits for most of the ride, but only city cabs can do it under the ordinance.

Metra to the rescue!
 

If you are already at Union Station, why not just take METRA's North Central Line to O'Hare Transfer.

Schedules here:

http://www.metrarail.com/Sched/ncs/ncs_wkout.shtml

Fare is US$3.80 one way, half that for Seniors.

At the O'Hare Transfer station, a bus (low floor, IIRC) will meet you and take you to the end (Remote Parking Station) of the Inter-Terminal people mover called "ATS" (or as I like to call it, O'Hare-VAL):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Airport_Transit_System

Then ride that to your desired terminal.

Cheap and relatively painless!

HeHateY: I think you answer your own question later in the post. Taking a Metra train to a bus to another train is enough of an issue that many previous posters have advised against this option. Too many failure points, it seems like to me.

The NCS line has some really bad departure times outside of the evening rush hour. It's a M-F commute to the city in the morning and out in the evening line.

The OP states her father is due in to Union Station around 3 p.m on a weekday.

Metra trains depart Union Station to O'Hare at 4:25, 4:58 (express), 5:01, 5:31, and 6:00. So even with a late arrival into Union Station, this would be a suitable choice. The 6:00 p.m. train might be cutting it a little close if the passenger has 5 hours to make the connection (presumably this means an 8 p.m. flight).