Transportation at night (Chicago: transfer, university, to live)

[flummoxed]

Hi,
i'll be studying at the university of Chicago in Fall, and will stay at the I-House near there. I plan to catch some gigs that might stretch til past midnight...most of the venues seem to be in the north, and I was wondering what the best way would be to get back. Are cabs too expensive? Or is public transportation at night too dangerous? I'd prefer not to drive if I can help it. Thanks!

[Magdeleine]

Well... kind of both are true. Cabs are expensive, and for a college student, probably TOO expensive. Public transportation after midnight would probably be kind of dangerous, but I'm thinking more along the lines of a pain in the butt, particularly if you're down at the University of Chicago and will have to be changing trains and, depending on the gig, maybe taking a bus as well.

Offer free tickets to the gigs to people who will give you a ride home.

[oakparkdude]

If you're staying at I-House, its best to take the Metra (commuter rail). Its fast, safe, and reliable. Since its commuter rail, it only runs at most, once every hour (less at night), so check their websiteMetra - Welcome to Metra for schedules. You want to take the Metra Electric line which has a stop at 59th st, right next to I-House.

[flummoxed]

ok, thanks! I suppose if the venue has a metra station nearby, i'll take that back to the i-house (and try my best not to fall asleep....)

One more thing, are cabs easy to come by in Chicago? I was just wondering whether there's usually a long waiting time, even if you call a cab....

[paytonc]

Cabs are easy on the north side; it's probably $30 now to get back from around downtown. However, as a night owl who used to live next to I-House... the last Metra Electric train leaves downtown (it doesn't go further north) at 12:50 AM. Also, it's a commuter rail service that doesn't accept transfers from the CTA (city buses & trains). The last CTA express bus from downtown (route #6) leaves at 1:30 AM, and stops about two blocks east of I-House at 59th & Stony Island.

The university also subsidizes additional nighttime buses (route #174) that run down 55th Street from Hyde Park to the Red Line station at Garfield Blvd., about two miles west of Hyde Park. The Red Line runs 24/7, and until 2:20 AM on Friday and Saturday nights you'll be able to catch either a #55 or a #174 back to Hyde Park every 15 minutes or so. After 2:20, you'll have to wait up to 30 minutes for a #55, which runs 24/7.

Bars and clubs in Chicago usually close at 2 AM.

The university has a pretty good website covering stuff in the city and, more importantly, how to get there from Hyde Park:
https://experiencechicago.uchicago.edu/

[Avengerfire]

If you take a cab and are north of lets say Belmont and east of Damen INSIST the cabbie take L.S.D. If you take L.S.D you costs should not be too high.