Chicago transportation changes

[Valerie]

Maybe some of the locals can flesh this out a bit, but I wanted to make sure that all the out-of-towners are aware of the changes to public transportation in Chicago. I spent a long en femme weekend there with my wife while everyone else was having fun at DLV this year.

CTA has switched to the Ventra card and you can no longer buy the separate multi-day passes. You have to purchase the Ventra Card and then purchase a "pass" that gets tied to the card. The card is a Visa card that can also carry a balance.

They charge $5 for this card but you get the $5 back in credit when you buy a pass later. I bought my card with a pass loaded at a kiosk and was charged both for the card and the full pass. That other $5 will be applied when I buy my next pass, specifically for October's PinkFest. If you make your two purchases separately, you may be able to use that $5 on your first pass. I didn't bother since I knew I'd be back.

When there in May I was told there were still some places selling the old individual pass cards, but I couldn't find one, at least not one that was convenient. I was also told that their might be somewhere to purchase passes specifically for visitors to the city. I decided it wasn't worth the hassle to hunt this down, especially since I love to visit Chicago for en femme outings.

- Valerie

[annie]

> CTA has switched to the Ventra card and you can no longer buy the separate
> multi-day passes. You have to purchase the Ventra Card and then purchase a
> "pass" that gets tied to the card. The card is a Visa card that
> can also carry a balance.

One thing that supposedly works, I haven't tried it since I have a "real" Ventra card, is that you can use any modern "chip" credit or debit card to board trains or buses with no formality. The standard single-ride one-way fare will then be charged to the card, or so they (the ubiquitous "they") say.

They are supposed to be making it so that a pass can be added to a non-Ventra "chip" credit or debit card, but the last I heard that feature was still coming Real Soon Now.

> They charge $5 for this card but you get the $5 back in credit when you buy
> a pass later.

IIRC, I got the $5 back in credit when I registered the card with my personally-identifying information on the web.

> I decided it wasn't worth the hassle to hunt this down,

Other than the $5 "deposit", the Ventra system is just as convenient as the old CTA cards. For those flying in to either Midway or O'Hare, there will always (usually) be a CTA representative right in the area of the transit card machines who will answer questions and even walk you through buying a card and such.

[Michelle V]

Transportation is the thing I'm most worried about. I'm ok in Vegas but I don't know about Chicago. I'm still undecided.

Does anyone use a rental car for the Pink Fest?

[annie]

> Does anyone use a rental car for the Pink Fest?

For the very first Pinkfest (2001) I had a rental car. It was handy, I admit, since I was staying at a hotel way out in the toolies. I drove my own car to the second Pinkfest but it stayed in the hotel parking lot most of the time. From 2003 on I haven't had a car and I found I enjoy it more that way.

The big issue you will have with a car for Pinkfest is parking. Almost all downtown and River North hotels charge extra for parking, if it is available at all. Parking is usually available easily in places such as River North and Boystown but it can be expensive.

Almost all hotels out in the 'burbs have parking included free for guests.

If you are familiar with the traffic on the Las Vegas Strip in the evening, that's the way it often is in downtown and in River North in Chicago. If you're comfortable with that, you will probably be OK.

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Bev
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Parking is so difficult and expensive in Chicago. I would avoid a car if
possible. We parked for 3 hours to see a play and parking cost us over $40.


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(This posting was entered by Bev, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Laura Wright
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I drive my own car since I live not too far from Chicago. But if I was
staying at a hotel in the city, I would not bother renting a car for
Pinkfest. IMO - You can get everywhere cheaper, faster, easier with mass
transit or taxis. Chicago can be a real pain for traffic and parking
costs especially if you are not used to it.


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(This posting was entered by Laura Wright, an external user of MyDLV.)

[External Poster]

This posting is from: Ginger
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Chicago is really easy to travel around using public transportation and
most, if not all, Pinkfest events are planned with the availability of
public transportation in mind. I've found the best advise, besides
asking Annie which can be problematic if she is not around, is Google
Maps. There is a great posting on the DLV site on using Google Maps for
planning trips by public transportation.

Ginger


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(This posting was entered by Ginger, an external user of MyDLV.)

[annie]

> the best advise, besides asking Annie which can be
> problematic if she is not around,

{blush!}

> There is a great posting on the DLV site on using Google Maps for
> planning trips by public transportation.

The link to the item Ginger referred to is here:

http://www.geekbabe.com/dlv/dt/

Although it's written with a setting of Las Vegas, much of it is applicable to Chicago as well.