Around Hyde Park

Hyde Park is a pretty small community, but for individuals who are new to the area it can seem huge. For those who want to get to know the area better please visit http://www.uchicago.edu/docs/maps. This site will provide a detailed map of the Hyde Park area and link you to the answers for both transportation and location questions.

Walking

It can be a pain, but walking is the old traditional way to get places.  Hyde Park is generally safe for pedestrians during the day, as long as you stick to main roads.  At night, try to travel in groups and stay on well-traveled, well-lit streets.  Keep safety first in mind at all times!  There are white phones located all over campus and Hyde Park that are direct lines to police; just pick them up and hit the button for automatic dial.  Also, bear in mind that the University of Chicago Police Department patrols from 47^th Street to 61^st Street and from Cottage Grove to Lake Michigan.  This provides a lot of extra protection and security within the U of C neighborhood.

CTA campus bus systems

The university supports three Hyde Park bus routes in conjunction with the CTA.  For information on any of these bus routes or for bus maps please visit http://www.rh.uchicago.edu/bus. If you are a student and show your student ID card, you may ride these three CTA buses free, but any accompanying friend or family member must pay the standard $1.50 CTA bus fee.  Bear in mind that no CTA ticket machine or bus vendor gives change, so bring exact change.

#170:

The #170 bus is a continuous loop around the Midway Plaisance, which serves routes between the hospital, professional schools, and the 59^th Street Metra Station very well.  It follows 59^th Street west, heads south on Cottage Grove, turns east almost immediately on 60^th Street, and takes 59^th back east to Stony Island, which is the northern leg of the rectangle.  The #170 bus runs approximately every ten to twenty minutes.  For more precise route and schedule information, see bus.uchicago.edu.  Schedules may differ on weekends.

#171:

The #171 serves the main campus area as well as outlying areas like the Shoreland Dormitory.  Its route is a large clockwise circle serving central and southern Hyde Park, with stops outside the Administration building, the Reynolds Club, Shoreland, and the Laboratory Schools.  The #171 runs every 15 minutes from 7:00am to 12:30pm and every 30 minutes thereafter until 4:00, at which time it resumes 15-minute runs until 6:00pm.  For more precise route and schedule information, see bus.uchicago.edu.  Schedules may differ on weekends.

#172:

The #172 serves northern Hyde Park and the main campus area.  Trips originate at East End in the northeastern corner of Hyde Park and follow 51^st Street west, Ellis Avenue south, 60^th Avenue east, and Woodlawn Avenue north.  The #172 runs every 15 minutes from 7:00am to 6:00pm, with the exception of a few midday 45-minute intervals around 1:00pm-4:45pm.  For more precise route and schedule information, see bus.uchicago.edu.  Schedules may differ on weekends.

Getting to/from airports:

For transport between Midway Airport or O’Hare Airport and Hyde Park, there are a few options.  To find detailed direction from the University of Chicago to O’Hare and Midway please go to http://www.uchicago.edu/maps/directions.

OMEGA SHUTTLE SERVICE

OMEGA shuttles travel directly between the University of Chicago campus and both O’Hare and Midway.  For a price between $12-18, you will be shuttled in a van with five or six other customers directly to your destination.  This is an especially good option if you are traveling with a group.

To use OMEGA to go from the University campus to O’Hare, you don’t even need a reservation; just show up at one of their regularly scheduled pickup locations on-campus.  The OMEGA O’Hare-bound shuttle stops outside the Quadrangle Club every hour on the hour between 5:00am and 8:00pm.  It stops at Rockefeller Chapel/International House ten minutes past every hour between 5:10am and 8:10pm.  It stops in front of Windermere, the Shoreland dormitory, and Market in the Park quarter-past every hour between 5:15am and 8:15pm.  Its final stop on the way to O’Hare is at the Ramada Inn on the northwest side of Hyde Park, at which it stops at twenty minutes past every hour between 5:20am and 8:25pm.  The trip to O’Hare will generally take between an hour and an hour and a half, but allow plenty of time. 

To use OMEGA to go from O’Hare to the University campus, the shuttle leaves once every hour from two different locations in O’Hare airport, as shown below.  The For international flights, the OMEGA shuttle leaves from Terminal #5 Door E forty minutes past every hour between 6:40am and 11:40pm.  For domestic flights, the shuttle leaves from the Bus/Shuttle Center at Door 4 every hour between 6:45am and 11:45pm. 

If you need to go to Midway Airport, call OMEGA at 1-773-483-OMEGA to make arrangements to be picked up.  These reservations must be made 24 hours in advance.  The OMEGA shuttle boards and unloads at door number M-1 at Midway Airport.  For additional information please visit there website at http://www.omegashuttle.com.

CTA

To take the CTA between O’Hare and Hyde Park, you’ll have to transfer between a bus and the train, and the total cost will be $1.80.  The time spent traveling, however, is the trade-off; allow an hour and a half for this trip.

From O’Hare to campus:  Follow the signs in O’Hare to the El, where you should buy a ticket that will cover a $1.80 fee. Take the Blue Line into the city, where you can transfer for free to the Red Line at any number of locations, including at Washington Street.  Take the Red Line south to Garfield Avenue.  Get off at Garfield Avenue (be careful; this stop can seem unfriendly, especially at night), exit the subway station, and cross the street to catch the #55 bus heading east.   The #55 bus will come every 6 to 8 minutes during peak hours, but it can be up to a 20-minute wait at night.  This bus will take you east, eventually traveling east on 55^th Street through the heart of Hyde Park. 

From campus to O’Hare:  When you board, pay $1.80, and ask the driver for a transfer card, which you will use to board the El later.  Get off at the Dan Ryan stop, or where the bus crosses the Dan Ryan highway.  There’s a Red Line El station here that will take you downtown, where you can transfer at Washington Street to the Blue Line without having to pay again.  Take the Blue Line north to O’Hare, the end of the line. 

From Midway Airport to campus: Catch the #55 bus heading east from the airport’s bus terminal.  Pay $1.50.  Stay on this bus, and you’ll end up traveling east on 55^th Street through the heart of Hyde Park. 

From campus to Midway Airport:  Catch the #55 bus heading west on 55^th Street at any marked CTA bus stop on 55^th Street.  Pay $1.50.  Stay on this bus, and you’ll be taken straight to Midway Airport.

Getting between Hyde Park and Downtown Chicago

There are several ways to travel between Hyde Park and the downtown Chicago area, or the “Loop.” 

CTA

The CTA buses run a few routes between Hyde Park and downtown Chicago.  All of them cost $1.50 for a one-way ride.  If you purchase a transfer card for an extra 30 cents, you will be able to ride twice more on CTA buses or trains within the next two hours.  To get more information please visit their website at http://www.yourcta.com.

#4, Cottage Grove bus

To get to downtown on this bus, catch it at 55^th Street and Cottage Grove, preferably during daylight hours.  The bus will take you up to the southern half of Michigan Avenue and does a small loop in the southern half of downtown on Randolph Street, Michigan Avenue, South Water Street, State Street, and Washington Street before heading back south on Cottage Grove Avenue.  To get back to Hyde Park from downtown on the #4, catch it southbound on State Street at Washington Street.  The bus runs approximately every five to ten minutes, depending on the time of day.

#6, Jeffrey Express bus

To get downtown on this bus, catch it northbound on Stony Island Avenue at 59^th or 57^th Streets.  The bus also travels north on South Hyde Park Boulevard between 57^th and 47^th Streets, on which there are many stops and places to catch it.  After leaving the Hyde Park area, the Jeffrey drives north on Lake Shore Drive, stopping at Roosevelt Road and the Field Museum, and then heads into downtown, where it loops in the southern half of downtown along Michigan Avenue, East Wacker Drive, South Water Street, and State Street before heading back south along Lake Shore Drive and the same route.  To get back to Hyde Park, catch the bus heading south on State Street between South Water and Congress Parkway.  The bus runs approximately every five to twelve minutes, depending on the time of day.

#55, Garfield bus

To get downtown on this bus, you must take it east to the Dan Ryan/Garfield El stop and then take the Red Line north to the Loop and beyond.  If you are looking for a way to get into the heart of downtown or to the North Side and outlying sections of Chicago, the Red Line is a good way to travel.  For instructions on precisely where to catch the #55, see the section entitled “Getting to the Airport.”  This bus runs approximately every five to twenty minutes, depending on the time of day. 

#173, Lakeview Express bus

This bus is a direct route between the University of Chicago campus, Michigan Avenue shopping, and the clubby North Side Belmont area.  The bus loops once around Hyde Park, picking up riders at the Reynolds Club and other locations, and then heads north on Lake Park Avenue to 47^th Street.  It takes Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue north to Ontario Street, and then circles north on Halsted Street to stop at Belmont Avenue before heading back to campus via Lake Shore Drive and Michigan Avenue.  To get back to campus on this bus, catch it heading south on Michigan Avenue at Ohio Street or Randolph Avenue, or simply catch it at Belmont and Halsted.  For more precise routes and times, see bus.uchicago.edu. 

Metra Train

Taking the Metra is usually much faster and cleaner than the CTA, but it is also slightly more expensive and runs at less frequent intervals.  A one-way ticket will cost you $1.95, and unlike CTA ticket vending machines, Metra ticket machines do give change. 

You can catch the Metra Electric Line in Hyde Park at one of three stops: 59^th Street (the standard University of Chicago stop), 55-6-7^th Streets, and 51^st-53^rd Streets.  In Hyde Park, the Metra runs alongside Lake Park Avenue, so the stations can be found at Lake Park and the intersections of 59^th Street, 57^th Street, 56^th Street, 55^th Street, 53^rd Street, and 51^st Street.  The northbound trip takes only about 15 minutes, and every northbound train will allow you to exit at stations like Lake Shore Drive and Roosevelt Road near the Museum Campus, Michigan Avenue and Van Buren Street, and Michigan Avenue and Randolph Street.  To return south, simply board trains at the same stations.  Every southbound train will stop at the 59^th Street station, although not necessarily at other Hyde Park locations. 

The Metra runs at extremely varied intervals between approximately 5:30am and 1:00am.  It can run as frequently as every five to ten minutes during rush hour, or as rarely as once an hour on weekends or late at night.  The final southbound train leaves the Randolph Street Metra station at 12:50pm.  For more precise schedule information, see www.metrarail.com. 

Taxis

While often the quickest and most reliable way to get around Chicago, taking the taxi is also by far the most expensive – especially when stuck in traffic.  Try these numbers for cab service anywhere within Chicago, and bear in mind that if you want to establish a pick-up time in the future – say, a ride to the airport tomorrow morning – many taxi companies require a trip minimum of five miles in order to pick you up at an appointed time.  Otherwise, the taxi will usually pick you up within 5-20 minutes of your phone call.  Taxis can be easily flagged down for service downtown.

Amm’s Limousine Service      (773) 792-1126

Checker Taxi                             (312) 243-2537

Flash Cab Co.                           (773) 561-1444

Yellow Cab                               (312) 829-4222