Total shutdown of ATS at ORD May 30
Jun 11, 2022, 3:33 am
#212
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: UA MM, AA PPro
Posts: 1,480
The ATS may be technically running 24x7, but I waited for 25 minutes after my 4am arrival today. Not sure if that is the norm at that hour or if there was some sort of an issue, but it took me 40 minutes to get to the MMF. 
Jun 11, 2022, 6:23 am
#213
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 852
They've been doing scheduled maintenance overnight here and there, but nothing I see was planned for last night into this morning.
Jun 13, 2022, 9:06 am
#214
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFOSJCOAK
Programs: AA-EXP & 1MM+, AS, MR-LTT, HH Gold
Posts: 7,581
To & From Car Rental
Glad to know that the ATS is running.
Have a question, hope someone can help or confirm:
Is the MMF where Budget/Hertz etc Car Rentals are located. How far a walk from MMF to Budget to pick up a car?
Thank you in advance.
Have a question, hope someone can help or confirm:
Is the MMF where Budget/Hertz etc Car Rentals are located. How far a walk from MMF to Budget to pick up a car?
Thank you in advance.
Jun 13, 2022, 10:04 am
#215
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,653
All the airport car rental counters are located at the MMF. The rental counters are on the ground floor. The cars are located on the upper levels, an escalator or elevator ride away.
Jun 13, 2022, 11:07 am
#216
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: CLE, DCA, and 30k feet
Programs: Honors LT Diamond; United 1K; Hertz PC
Posts: 4,168
I haven't paid attention to Budget but Hertz and its corporate siblings are directly behind the rental counters on the ground floor. Again, at least with Hertz (not sure about the others) if you're a rewards member you can just go from ATS to car without stopping at the counters. IME, the longest part of the journey is the escalator ride down from the ATS to the ground floor... less than 2 minutes from floor to car.
Jun 13, 2022, 12:54 pm
#217
Moderator: Travel Safety/Security, Travel Tools, California, Los Angeles; FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: LAX
Programs: oneword Emerald
Posts: 20,653
I haven't paid attention to Budget but Hertz and its corporate siblings are directly behind the rental counters on the ground floor. Again, at least with Hertz (not sure about the others) if you're a rewards member you can just go from ATS to car without stopping at the counters. IME, the longest part of the journey is the escalator ride down from the ATS to the ground floor... less than 2 minutes from floor to car.
Sep 14, 2022, 10:01 pm
#219
Join Date: Sep 2008
Posts: 7,875
Why does National's website still say a shuttle bus ride is required, and the ATS destination guide have the rental car spot not lit up?
Very annoying (Enterprise's webpage is even better, telling you to take ATS and below saying a shuttle bus is required).
Very annoying (Enterprise's webpage is even better, telling you to take ATS and below saying a shuttle bus is required).
Sep 30, 2022, 2:20 pm
#220
Join Date: Jan 2017
Location: MDW/ORD
Programs: WN A list, UA Gold, AA Gold, Marriott LT Gold, IHG Platinum, National EE, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 526
On Monday morning 9/26, I went to park at Parking Lot F in the new MMF. The parking lot was closed because it was full so I went to park at Parking lot G. From there, I got the shuttle bus directly to the terminal. When I flew back to O'Hare yesterday afternoon, I went to wait for the shuttle bus near T1 where it had dropped me off on Monday. There are no shuttle bus signs any more. After waiting 15+ minutes for a bus, I found a Garage/Parking lot number and called it. They told me that buses only run directly to the terminal when the ATS is out of service. At any other time, you take the ATS and then the bus to the remote lots. So I did that, having wasted 15+ minutes on waiting for a bus that would never come.
O'Hare's own web site is not clear on this:
"To get to/from Lot G and Lot H from the terminals, passengers should take the remote parking shuttle that picks up on the Upper Level roadway. Shuttles arrive every 5/10 minutes and operate 24 hours a day. Starting mid-June, all parking lot buses will operate from the Multi-Modal Facility (MMF) with ATS service to all terminals."
O'Hare's own web site is not clear on this:
"To get to/from Lot G and Lot H from the terminals, passengers should take the remote parking shuttle that picks up on the Upper Level roadway. Shuttles arrive every 5/10 minutes and operate 24 hours a day. Starting mid-June, all parking lot buses will operate from the Multi-Modal Facility (MMF) with ATS service to all terminals."
Dec 8, 2022, 11:20 pm
#221
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: ORD
Programs: UA MM, AA PPro
Posts: 1,480
I got to say that after all these years waiting for the ATS to come back to life, it was really disappointing to land at 11:30pm on a Thursday night only to find ATS out of service. Again.
It took 15 minutes for a shuttle bus to arrive. By the time we got to T3 the bus was pretty much packed. It took another 20 minutes to get to the car rental facility because the driver forgot to get into the right lane to get to T5 and had to circle around. All told, it took me almost 45 minutes to get from T1 to Parking Lot F.
It took 15 minutes for a shuttle bus to arrive. By the time we got to T3 the bus was pretty much packed. It took another 20 minutes to get to the car rental facility because the driver forgot to get into the right lane to get to T5 and had to circle around. All told, it took me almost 45 minutes to get from T1 to Parking Lot F.
Jan 2, 2023, 4:46 pm
#223
Join Date: Apr 2010
Posts: 1,546
Apr 24, 2023, 7:56 pm
#224
Join Date: Mar 2019
Programs: UA 1K, AA Plat, DL Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton Diamond, Avis PC, Hertz PC
Posts: 41
Wish they could fix this! It bugs me every single time I take the ATS to the MMF. I don't understand why they didn't just tear down the station during the ATS work or MMF construction. .
On another note, the signage to find the ATS from the terminal is still terrible; the automated announcements on-board are hard to decipher, and the "TRAIN BOARDING" signs could use an update. When the train is boarding, you can't tell via the sign where it's going.
Apr 26, 2023, 8:29 pm
#225
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: SFOSJCOAK
Programs: AA-EXP & 1MM+, AS, MR-LTT, HH Gold
Posts: 7,581
Interesting point on it potentially being an Innovia feature or a train-to-platform clearance issue. Would be great to just blow right by it.
Wish they could fix this! It bugs me every single time I take the ATS to the MMF. I don't understand why they didn't just tear down the station during the ATS work or MMF construction. .
On another note, the signage to find the ATS from the terminal is still terrible; the automated announcements on-board are hard to decipher, and the "TRAIN BOARDING" signs could use an update. When the train is boarding, you can't tell via the sign where it's going.
Wish they could fix this! It bugs me every single time I take the ATS to the MMF. I don't understand why they didn't just tear down the station during the ATS work or MMF construction. .
On another note, the signage to find the ATS from the terminal is still terrible; the automated announcements on-board are hard to decipher, and the "TRAIN BOARDING" signs could use an update. When the train is boarding, you can't tell via the sign where it's going.
Couldn't agree more!