O'Hare to Wrigley Field for a Cubs game
Blue Line from O'Hare ($5 to board), change to the Red Line, get off at Addison. Taxi and rideshare compared, with what the CTA, Cubs and Uber publish.
Wrigley Field is at 1060 W. Addison St., and the L reaches it from O’Hare with one change. Ride the Blue Line from the airport into the city, then switch to the Red Line and get off at Addison, the station the Cubs name for the ballpark. O’Hare’s transit page calls the CTA the most economical option.
Five ways to the ballpark
The CTA, the airport and the Cubs publish no fare or travel time for the whole trip from O’Hare to Wrigley Field. Their figures stop at downtown. Uber’s own route page for O’Hare to Wrigley Field prices the whole trip.
| Way | Cost | Time | Where it ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blue Line, then Red Line | $5 to board at O’Hare | The CTA says 40-45 minutes from O’Hare to downtown, with nothing published past that | Addison station |
| Blue Line, then the #152 bus | Uber’s route page says the whole trip costs $5 | Uber’s page says about 50 minutes | Uber’s page says the #152 eastbound bus lets off at Wrigley Field |
| Taxi | The meter. The airport’s average to downtown is $50, the CTA’s is around $40 | The CTA says 25-90 minutes to downtown | The Cubs’ pages name no taxi stop |
| Private bus | Uber’s route page says it usually costs around $10 | About 40 minutes, per Uber’s page | The page names no operator, pickup spot or stop |
| Rideshare | Uber’s route page prints an average of $45 for this trip. The CTA’s chart says around $35-50 to downtown, surging to $140 or more | Uber’s page says an estimated 44 minutes over 15 miles. The CTA says 25-90 minutes to downtown | The Cubs’ pages name no drop-off spot. Their pick-up streets are Addison Street between Broadway and Halsted Street, and Irving Park Road between Clark Street and Seminary Avenue |
Uber’s page lists these per-product averages:
- UberX: $51
- Share: $29
- Comfort: $49
- Black: $92
- Priority: $58
It says they reflect the past month’s average prices and aren’t fixed or guaranteed. The airport’s $50 and the CTA’s $40 come from different pages and don’t agree. The meter settles it, and neither number is a Wrigley fare.
Blue Line first, then the Red Line to Addison
The Blue Line is the easy leg, because it starts inside O’Hare and runs at all times, every day. From Terminals 1, 2 and 3 you follow the Trains to City signs through the pedestrian tunnels. From Terminal 5, ride the Airport Transit System to Terminal 2 or 3 first. Our Blue Line guide walks you from each terminal to the platform.
Change to the Red Line downtown. The Cubs say you can transfer to Red Line trains from all other rail lines and board them at the stations in the State Street subway. Neither the Cubs nor the CTA’s Blue Line page says which Blue Line stop to change at. The Cubs point to the RTA’s online trip planner for the connection.
The change costs nothing extra. The CTA says transfers to another train or bus are free, up to two within two hours, on the same Ventra Card, Ventra Ticket, bank card or wallet. Boarding anywhere else on the L costs $2.50, so the way back is cheaper.
Your Blue Line train passes a station called Addison on the way into the city, and it isn’t the ballpark stop. The Cubs name the Red Line’s Addison station, which they call accessible.
The Cubs also say the #152 Addison bus runs along Addison Street from Cumberland on the west to Lake Shore Drive on the east. The #22 Clark and the #152 both stop at Clark and Addison. Uber’s route page says to ride the Blue Line to the Addison Street stop and transfer to the CTA #152 eastbound bus, which lets off at Wrigley Field. The Cubs and the CTA’s Blue Line page don’t confirm that connection, so check the RTA’s trip planner before you plan around it.
Taxi and rideshare: where you start, where you stop
Taxis wait at the stand on the lower-level curb outside baggage claim at every terminal. Use the marked stand, because the airport warns against rides offered outside it or on the departure level. Our taxi page lists the rates and the surcharges the meter adds, including the $4 airport departure tax on fares leaving the airport.
Rideshare pickups are on the upper level, at the orange poles 2A to 2G in Terminal 2 and the green poles 3G, 3H, 3J and 3K in Terminal 3. Our Uber and Lyft guide covers what to do from Terminals 1 and 5.
At the ballpark, the Cubs say rideshare apps use a geo-fence for pick-up and drop-off on game and event days. Pick-ups are on the two streets in the table. The Cubs don’t list drop-off spots, so check where your app ends the ride before you pay for it.
Game days: what’s published and what isn’t
The Cubs strongly encourage public transportation for events at Wrigley Field. For all games, they say, extra #152 Addison service runs as crowds warrant, from two hours before game time until one hour after the game ends.
O’Hare’s Public Transit and Taxi pages don’t mention games or the ballpark. The CTA’s Blue Line page lists no game-day service either. None of these pages says how full trains get before or after a game, so leave extra room if you have a flight to catch.
The Cubs also list a Pace Wrigley Field Express for weekend home games and weekend concerts, and they send readers to Pace’s website for its routes and fares. They don’t say where it starts.
Getting back to the airport
The Cubs and O’Hare don’t publish Red Line hours, so check CTA’s Red Line timetable before a night game ends. CTA’s alerts page lists planned work by line.
Our downtown guide lines up the road options if the L isn’t running when you need it.
Sources
- O’Hare Airport Guide: CTA Blue Line, taxi, rideshare, Blue Line guide, Uber and Lyft guide and downtown guide
- Chicago Cubs: Wrigley Field parking and transportation, CTA information and Rideshare
- Chicago Transit Authority: the airport transit chart, the Blue Line page, the fare chart and the alerts page
- Chicago Department of Aviation: the Public Transit page and the Taxis, Limousines and Rideshare page