ORDAirport Guide

Every way to get to and from O'Hare

Blue Line $5 and 24 hours, Metra $3.75 on weekdays, Pace $2.00, taxi $50 or $40 depending on whose number you trust. Where each ride boards.

The Multi-Modal Facility at O'Hare, home of the rental cars, buses and the Metra link.
Multi-Modal Facility, O'Hare

Rides out of O’Hare start in one of three places: the roadway at your terminal, the Blue Line station in the parking garage, or the Multi-Modal Facility on the airport’s northeast side. Taxis, rideshare and pre-arranged cars work from the terminal roadways. The Blue Line runs 24 hours a day. Metra, Pace, regional coaches, rental cars and the Kiss ‘n’ Fly all sit at the Multi-Modal Facility, and you’ll reach it on the Airport Transit System.

Which way costs what, and where do you board?

Way Best for Fare listed Boards at
CTA Blue Line, 24 hours Downtown and the rest of the “L” $5 boarding at O’Hare, $2.50 boarding anywhere else O’Hare station, lower level of the parking garage
Metra North Central Service, weekdays only Union Station $3.75 one way to downtown O’Hare Transfer station, behind the Multi-Modal Facility
Pace Route 250, daily Des Plaines Metra station and Evanston $2.00 by Ventra or contactless card, $2.25 cash Multi-Modal Facility, bays 8 and 9
Pace Route 330, daily per Pace, weekdays and Saturdays per the airport The La Grange Road station for Amtrak and the Metra BNSF Line, and Summit $2.00 by Ventra or contactless card, $2.25 cash Multi-Modal Facility, bays 8 and 9
Regional coaches Madison, Rockford, Peoria, Champaign, Purdue and Indianapolis No fares listed Multi-Modal Facility, bus bays 5, 6 and 7 on the airport’s terminal map
Taxi Chicago and suburban addresses See the downtown table below Taxi rank on the lower-level curb at every terminal
Rideshare A pickup at the pole your driver names See the downtown table below Upper-level poles 2A to 2G in Terminal 2 and 3G, 3H, 3J and 3K in Terminal 3
Limousines and pre-arranged rides A driver you booked ahead No fares listed Lower-level center lane, lane 2, at every terminal
Hotel and parking shuttles Your hotel or an off-airport lot No fares listed Terminal 2 Arrivals curb, per the airport’s Shuttles page
Rental cars Driving yourself No fares listed Multi-Modal Facility. Off-site companies’ shuttles use bus bay 1

Vending machines outside the Blue Line station take cash or a card. A single Ventra ticket bought at O’Hare is $5 and good for up to 3 rides within 2 hours, and a one-day CTA and Pace pass is also $5 and covers boarding at O’Hare. Our Blue Line how-to covers the signs and the fare machines.

Metra’s North Central trains run between Union Station and Antioch, and tickets are sold by the conductor, at a vending machine or in the Ventra app. Our Union Station guide compares Metra with the Blue Line. The Evanston bus guide covers Route 250 to Des Plaines and Evanston, the western suburbs guide covers Route 330 to La Grange Road and Summit, and the coach bus guide covers the regional coaches to Madison, Peoria, Champaign and Purdue.

The airport’s Shuttles page moved every hotel and off-airport parking shuttle pick-up from the old Bus Shuttle Center to the Terminal 2 Arrivals curb, and it says some shuttles still pick up at Terminal 5, so ask your shuttle provider. The airport’s terminal map still marks a Hotel Shuttle Drop Off & Pick Up on the Terminal 1 lower level and a Hotel Shuttle at the Terminal 5 lower-level curb, and it marks none at Terminal 2. If your hotel doesn’t say where its shuttle stops, ask before you walk out. The hotel shuttle guide covers which hotels run all night, and the rental car guide lists the counters and phone numbers.

The airport says $50 by taxi and the CTA says about $40

The airport’s taxi page gives an average fare of $50 and says traffic conditions set it. The CTA’s airport page puts a taxi at around $40. The CTA’s chart also prices the other ways downtown:

Way to downtown Cost on the CTA’s chart Travel time on the CTA’s chart
CTA trains $5 or less 45 min
Taxi around $40 25-90 min
Shuttle van services over $25 25-90 min
Rideshare around $35-50, surges to $140 or more 25-90 min

The CTA says its taxi, rideshare and shuttle figures don’t include gratuity. A shared taxi has a flat $30 fare to downtown or McCormick Place. Rides from the airport to most suburbs are charged at the meter plus one half, except the straight-meter suburbs the city lists, such as Des Plaines, Evanston, Oak Park, Park Ridge, Rosemont and Skokie. Our taxi fares guide has the meter rates, and the downtown guide sets all five ways side by side.

The airport doesn’t list rideshare poles for Terminals 1 or 5, only for Terminals 2 and 3. Black car rides and wheelchair accessible vehicles use the lower level of every terminal, and the Uber and Lyft guide says what to do from Terminals 1 and 5. For a car you booked, the pre-booked cars guide covers where the driver meets you. The airport lists 5 to 20 minutes for the car to reach the pickup point.

Terminal 5 adds a train ride first

To reach the Blue Line from Terminal 5, ride the Airport Transit System to Terminal 2 or 3 first, then follow the Trains to City signs. The train is free and runs 24 hours a day.

Getting picked up or dropped off has its own rules

Pickups happen on the lower level, at the outermost curb, and waiting at the curb isn’t allowed. Unattended vehicles are ticketed and towed. The free cell phone lot at 560 North Bessie Coleman Drive is where a driver waits until you call. The Kiss ‘n’ Fly at the Multi-Modal Facility is a drop-off and pickup point off the terminal roads, with a 15 minute limit and the Airport Transit System into every terminal. Our curbs and cell phone lot guide and Kiss ‘n’ Fly guide have the directions.

Between O’Hare and Midway, the Blue Line and Orange Line take up to two hours

The airport’s Midway page calls the CTA the most economical way. Take the Blue Line to Clark/Lake, transfer to the Orange Line free of charge, and ride to Midway. The page says to allow up to two hours. The other option it names is a taxi, with shared ride fares of $37 per person. A shared flat fare of $45 is published for the same trip, and neither source says why they differ. Our Midway guide compares them with rideshare and coach.

Sources