Drive vs Metra commute downtown (Chicago, Elmhurst: lawyers, homes, neighborhood)

[jman07]

What percentage of people would you say who work downtown take the drain vs drive? Why would you drive over take the train?

[chet everett]

If by "downtown" you mean the area that is the TRADITIONAL Loop and Greater North Michigan area I suspect folks who DRIVE are less than 15%. If you expand "downtown" to include area in the wider River North / River West / Fulton Market the percentage of drivers probably rises to something more than double.

Commuters are not mindless, they know that spending time and money on multiple modes of transportation has to be weighed against the relative ease of getting parking in some parts of Chicago.

For folks in the 'heart of the Loop' that has expanded to include basically anything west of Michigan Ave and east of the Kennedy with a southern border of maybe Polk on the south and maybe Ontario on the north the percentage of drivers is probably 10% BUT there are some exceptions -- lots of folks do have semi-mobile jobs that require them to meet with clients, a fair number of folks that work especially late or early tend to rely on their cars, and certain kinds of higher level workers tend to really like the privacy of their personal vehicles...

[JJski]

Hence the premium price tag of homes in walkable train station range...

[pvande55]

It also depends on the season. More ride the train in the winter when snow can slow traffic to a crawl. In the summer more drive as they might be leaving early for recreation or vacation.

[ToriaT]

I believe the majority take the train. In the central loop area, parking fees can run thirty or forty dollars a day. The people who drive might work somewhere where they have a parking space provided or provided cheaply. This is a rarity but I have heard about a few. Many people drive and pay the money on an occasional basis if they have to leave somewhere else after work and its not feasible to take the train or if they have to carry something it would not be feasible to take on the train. I did that occasionally and I would park in the south loop around Congress and Dearborn. This was some time ago and it cost about thirty dollars. There may be some like doctors or lawyers that have high incomes who have to respond to medical emergencies or court dates who drive to the loop. Very few average common folk on ordinary salaries do.

[wjj]

Originally Posted by ToriaT

I believe the majority take the train. In the central loop area, parking fees can run thirty or forty dollars a day. The people who drive might work somewhere where they have a parking space provided or provided cheaply. This is a rarity but I have heard about a few. Many people drive and pay the money on an occasional basis if they have to leave somewhere else after work and its not feasible to take the train or if they have to carry something it would not be feasible to take on the train. I did that occasionally and I would park in the south loop around Congress and Dearborn. This was some time ago and it cost about thirty dollars. There may be some like doctors or lawyers that have high incomes who have to respond to medical emergencies or court dates who drive to the loop. Very few average common folk on ordinary salaries do.

I think it is not so cut and dried. I know at my firm I was definitely in the minority in taking the train earlier in my career. I used to do the monthly pass, monthly parking bit, but later, went to 10 rides and daily parking and drove much more. As I moved up in my career, flexibility was more important than convenience. We have always had a parking deal with a nearby garage, which is actually very common downtown - it is not rare at all. I know all of our competitors had similar arrangements. Ours was $10/day during the week and $6/day on the weekends. Toward the end of my career I drove in about 80% of the time, but by then, only actually went into the office several times a month. I took the train mostly in the winter when there was bad weather. A lot depends on your job. For example, government workers, back office workers, administrative workers, IT workers, and new staff in financial firms have workdays that can line up with a train schedule. However, after several years at one of the big accounting and advisory, financial, or law firms that dominate a lot of the downtown area, flexibility becomes more important in career advancement. Unless one is willing to take the local train before/after the rush hour express trains, driving often works best. Each person's situation will be different. Look at the job requirements - both formal and the informal reality.

[ChicagoMeO]

no way do i enjoy sitting on the expressway in rush hour. that is why i dont drive.

[reppin_the_847]

Probably a lot of variables here as others mentioned. I'm sure the majority take the train in. But certainly the drive into downtown is not so bad if one lives in a north side neighborhood right along Lake Shore Drive. The Lake Shore Drive inbound drive is certainly a lot shorter & more pleasant than the major expressways coming in from the suburbs (ie. 90/94, 290, 55, etc.).

[nikitakolata]

Originally Posted by jman07

What percentage of people would you say who work downtown take the drain vs drive? Why would you drive over take the train?

I am now in a unique situation where I can either drive or take the train. I work in the West Loop now, so walking from Ogilvie is not bad, but there is also free parking. I find I'm starting to prefer driving, which I never thought would happen. I guess I'm just sick of Metra's mechanical delays, which have been frequent lately. Also, the train I usually take has been short one car for weeks so now there are no seats on the train in the morning. It's annoying.

But, besides that, for the UP West line, if you live in Elmhurst there are a few trains leaving Chicago when I get off work: 4:11, 4:17 and 4:35. If you miss the 4:35 there's not another train to Elmhurst until 5:13. With that gap, I'll be home sooner if I just drive home, so that's often what I will do. Sometimes the schedule is annoying, I guess. But, again, that's a flexibility I have now that I never did before; I can choose to leave my company cars downtown, or I can drive them home whenever. So, even if I don't drive in in the morning, I can drive home in the afternoon and not drive in again for a few days/week if I don't want to.

Generally though, the train is a pretty pleasant experience. I like that I can get things done while I'm on the train that I cannot do while driving. However, if Tesla made truly autonomous cars I'd buy one in a heartbeat and be done with the train.

[bellhead]

Originally Posted by nikitakolata

I am now in a unique situation where I can either drive or take the train. I work in the West Loop now, so walking from Ogilvie is not bad, but there is also free parking. I find I'm starting to prefer driving, which I never thought would happen. I guess I'm just sick of Metra's mechanical delays, which have been frequent lately. Also, the train I usually take has been short one car for weeks so now there are no seats on the train in the morning. It's annoying.

But, besides that, for the UP West line, if you live in Elmhurst there are a few trains leaving Chicago when I get off work: 4:11, 4:17 and 4:35. If you miss the 4:35 there's not another train to Elmhurst until 5:13. With that gap, I'll be home sooner if I just drive home, so that's often what I will do. Sometimes the schedule is annoying, I guess. But, again, that's a flexibility I have now that I never did before; I can choose to leave my company cars downtown, or I can drive them home whenever. So, even if I don't drive in in the morning, I can drive home in the afternoon and not drive in again for a few days/week if I don't want to.

Generally though, the train is a pretty pleasant experience. I like that I can get things done while I'm on the train that I cannot do while driving. However, if Tesla made truly autonomous cars I'd buy one in a heartbeat and be done with the train.

The autonomous car will be the biggest disruption on a transportation since the major interstates were built in the 50's and 60's. People like yourself are no longer going to take public transpiration but people who were too far from public transpiration and need a ride to the train station are now able to.

Also people are going to enter into car share programs were 2000 cars are shared among 10,000 people.