(no subject)

[the_rck]

Anyone know, realistically, how hard it would be to get from a hotel near O’Hare to various touristy things in Chicago? I’ve found a hotel near O’Hare that’s within our price range, highly rated, and that has all of the things we were looking for. I think we can deal with airport noise if we need to, given everything else.

Google says that, right now, driving from there to each of the four destinations I suggested would be in the forty to fifty minutes range and that mass transit would be about an hour and ten minutes. I have no idea how weekday traffic would change the driving estimates or if there are more options for mass transit on weekdays (I know that there are more buses around here during the week, but I don’t know if that applies in places with better mass transit).

I was extremely surprised that all four destinations came out so close in terms of trip time. That seems unlikely. I’m also really wary— Google’s trip planner is extremely unreliable when it comes to getting around the Ann Arbor area using mass transit. I have no data as to whether or not it’s better for the Chicago area.

Comments

[alchemise]

I've stayed out near O'Hare before and then drove to Navy Pier. It wasn't too bad and saving so much money made it worth it. I think you really just have to be prepared to deal with lots of crazy Chicago traffic. This was on a weekend though, I don't know how it would be different on a weekday.

[the_rck]

I think we will probably go with mass transit because we're going to want to be heading into town around the time the museums open (9 a.m.) and coming back when they close (5 or 6 p.m.) which are pretty much guaranteed to be terrible traffic times on the days we'll be there (Monday and Tuesday). A three day pass for the CTA system is $20 (one day is $10, so the three day is the same as getting two single day passes. I may get a one day pass because I'm probably not going into town both days).

Thanks for the information!

[kyrielle]

I found the mass transit quite easy to use but, to be fair, I also had a friend living there at the time handling the thinking; I just went where she told me. I think it was a weekend? Not sure.

You can ask Google to estimate for another time if you are on the web site - select the "leave now" drop-down and change it to leave at or arrive by, adjust date/times and it will tell you typical travel times.

[the_rck]

Scott and I have decided to stick with mass transit. It will be cheaper than trying to park, and there's a Blue Line train once every six minutes on Saturdays. I wouldn't expect it to be less frequent on a weekday.

But, when I'm printing off the detailed directions, I will make sure to set the times/days we're planning to travel.

[hamsterwoman]

I have no idea about Chicago, but Google Maps does let you change the day/time of your trip when getting directions, and it changes traffic estimates and uses the relevant public transit schedules. When you're in Maps > Directions, there's an Options box (a darker blue in my case), and it's pre-set to "Leave Now", but you can toggle it to select a different da and time.

Google is pretty good with public transit in my area, but I think it's an artefact of what database it's pulling from. Well, and we're a lot closer to the mothership than Ann Arbor, maybe that plays a role, too, dunno.

You could try to see if Chicago area public transit has their own public transit planner and triangulate that with Google's to see if they agree?

[the_rck]

I'm about 80% certain that the problem with Google and planning trips using Ann Arbor mass transit is that the local bus company hasn't updated its trip planning software in about ten years and still doesn't acknowledge that it's possible to transfer from one bus to another except at a handful of specific places. It also assumes that all trips have to start by going inbound to one of the two central stations.

For getting to the grocery store, for example, I go two blocks and catch the outbound #22 and go directly to the store. (The #23 also goes there, is a little more frequent, gets there five minutes faster, and is close to my house, but that requires crossing a busy street on both ends.) The ride planner would have me ride the #22 or the #23 inbound and then take the other outbound, back past my house, to get to the store.

It's a pretty obvious problem with the ride planning program.

I'll try playing around with different starting times for the trip. I'm just currently irritated with the interface. Google is so omnipresent, but whoever they're designing things for, it's obviously not me. All of their shortcuts end up being things I have to undo before going on.

[hamsterwoman]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that for public transit, unlike driving (and walking/biking?) Google Maps just pulls from the existing public transit ride planning systems at each place, so if Ann Arbor's is 10 years out of date, it's garbage in garbage out. (It sounds like your place's database has only major stops in it, rather than ALL stops, like on the old paper schedules/transit maps.)

Good luck, I hope you are able to get Google to tell you what you want it to. (It does have a tendency to think it knows better :P)

[jss]

In my experience Google's understanding of Chicago public transit is reasonable. The Blue Line from O'Hare (and the nearby hotels) inbound taking an hour plus sounds about right. When it comes to "driving in Chicago" my advice is not to. I hate hate hate hate driving in Chicagoland. and the freeways are often parking lots during rush hour.

[the_rck]

Thanks for the information! I don't think we're going to find anything cheaper and closer. Scott would prefer something on the east side of Chicago just for a shorter trip to and from Ann Arbor, but this has all of the things we wanted for a price we can afford, so I think it may well be worth the extra drive on the way there and the way home.

I was looking at the suburbs, but I couldn't make head or tail or the Metra website to see where that goes relative to the hotels I was turning up, and I expect that that might take longer than the Blue Line from O'Hare and involve more transfers/connections. All of the trips I looked at from this hotel involved two or three transfers as it was.

[jss]

There's a Travelodge tower-type hotel on Harrison (near Michigan Avenue) a block south of Congress, a block or so east of a Red Line stop. I don't know their rates; Google says they don't have a pool.

Metra is more commuter-focused and generally slower than the El system. Unless there's something specific in a suburb you wanted to see/do I wouldn't recommend it.