How to Travel on Public Transportation in Chicago
Chicago, the third largest city in the United States, is a location you can live in without a car. The elevated trains, buses and Metra trains will get visitors and locals from suburb to suburb and throughout the city for less than 5 dollars. But because Chicago is so big, it may be confusing for out-of-towners to know which trains or buses to take to get to a location, and what items are allowed to be carried when boarding certain types of public transportation.
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Instructions
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Contact RTA for the cheapest and quickest route from one subway train to the next or from a bus to a train. There are different color-coded lines of subway trains going in various regions, such as the Blue Line, Pink Line, Red Line, Purple Line, Yellow Line, Green Line, Orange Line and the Brown Line. While some trains go solely into suburbs (such as the Yellow Line for Skokie, Illinois), other lines (like the Red Line) travel to and from the north side of Chicago into downtown Chicago to the south side of Chicago.
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Check your Metra pass to make sure you are in the correct zone (a letter in the middle of the pass). Metra trains operate by zones just like the color-coded El subway trains in Chicago. Unlike the El train where a traveler can go through various color-coded El trains for the same price, Metra trains charge by distance and are more popular for traveling into the suburbs.
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Buy a Chicago card if you plan to travel from various trains to buses. If someone goes from a bus to a train within a 2-hour time span, the price is not the full fare with a Chicago card. Regular transit cards, however, do not have this capability. Currency exchanges in the Chicago area also sell Fun cards that let travelers ride all day long on the same card for one price. Chicago cards are also useful if they are lost. With insurance and identifying information on the card, a replacement card can be sent with the money from the previous card canceled and transferred onto the new card, whereas a CTA card doesn't have this type of tracking device.
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Verify working hours for PACE buses. Whereas Chicago trains and buses tend to run into late night hours, certain PACE buses stop running at early evening hours depending on the location. PACE buses are most popular in suburban areas, and for a small extra sum, commuters can go from Metra trains to PACE buses.
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Load 20 dollar bills if you want to take advantage of the 2 dollar extra perk. If money is loaded at a CTA vending machine, for every 20 dollars put on a CTA transit card, the machine automatically adds 2 dollars; a commuter can see the money being added in the digital screen on the machine. The downside is that once the money is on the card, it cannot be taken off.
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Tips & Warnings
Vendors selling bootleg CDs and movies, candy, socks and fragrance oils commonly walk through the cars of the Red Line El train, especially on the south side. Do not be alarmed when they open the emergency doors; it's done so frequently that it's rare to be on a Red Line train without a vendor coming through. Red Line trains are notorious for stopping due to technical difficulties, especially outside of rush hour traffic. Give yourself added time in your traveling schedule for extra stops, too many trains on one track or customers needing assistance on the platform.
Be weary of carrying expensive electronic paraphernalia in subways. Because peddlers and some mischievous people get on and off the bus, it's a good idea to keep these items in close proximity. (For example, keep your MP3 player tucked inside your coat pocket instead of in your hand, especially if you plan to sleep through the ride.) There is an emergency button on each train car of subway El trains, next to the handicapped seat, so if you are ever uncomfortable on a train, sit near this seat. However, because people tend to lean on that button or "button-happy" people press it to see what happens, be prepared for the CTA conductor to not immediately come to your call. He will more than likely ask on the loudspeaker, for all the other passengers to hear, whether you are okay. This emergency button is not a private conversation.
