CTA in Chicago - Safety?

Don't do it - it's definitely worth it to pay for a cab and not have to worry. See the Airwise website for a warning on O'Hare to downtown Chicago train travel at night: http://www.airwise.com/airports/us/ORD/ORDbytrain2.html<BR>Chicago is a great city with so much to see and do - but if you see a warning like this, you need to pay attention. Have a great trip!

Well, I'd think it was safe at all times of the night. You might have problems in the neighbourhoods of some stations on the way, but not on the train, and not in downtown Chicago.

I think you would be safe awell. I know people who take it and have never had a problem.

I would be wary if it was just 1 person - but 2 - no problem.

#1 - What garbage,

My wife and i have done the Blue Line to the Loop at night alone without any incident. Many people who live in the city have no vehicles and that is how they get back from the airport.

And that website is way out of date. The fare between the airport and downtown is $2 each way. It has not been $1.50 in years.

I would take the blue line at midnight without any hesitation. It's perfectly safe and late night trains leaving O'Hare are surprisingly crowded. Besides arriving passengers, there are hundreds of airport employees commuting as well as evening shift workers at the dozens of airport hotels & restaurants and office cleaning people etc etc. It's almost like a mini rush hour.

I've taken the Blue Line at night without incident, and would do it again. However, I once did have a gang argument erupt within a few feet of me on the train (threats to "cap yo' ass," etc. were liberally exchanged among the participants), and I do know someone who was assaulted and robbed on it, so all is not hope and glory.

Here's a link to CTA crime stats, if you're so inclined: Chicagocrime.org link If you feel at all squeamish, then a cab ride isn't a horrible option. Just make sure that the cabbie knows where s/he is going, as many Chicago taxi drivers don't seem to know their way around. (Odd, given the grid and logical address numbering used there.)

And here's an article from the Chicago Sun Times:
________________________________

Crime hits fewer CTA riders in '06
Chicago Sun-Times, Aug 7, 2006 by Monifa Thomas

Despite a slight increase in ridership, fewer crimes were reported on CTA property in the first half of 2006 than during the same period last year, Chicago Police statistics show.

Property crimes, such as pickpocketing and more violent strong- arm robberies, continue to be the most common offenses committed on CTA trains, buses and stations.

In the first six months of 2006, there were 544 reported thefts, a decline of nearly 7 percent from the first half of 2005.

The number of robberies dropped even further this year. Compared with 96 in 2005, there were 63 robberies from January through June this year -- a 34 percent drop.

Statistics from the Chicago Police Department show a similar trend in reports of aggravated battery, while the number of criminal sexual assaults and burglaries remained the same.

The last murder on Chicago Transit Authority property was in 2004.

TARGETED ENFORCEMENT

The decline in crime is notable, considering more people are using the system. CTA buses and trains provided 202.6 million rides in the first five months of 2006, a 1.4 percent increase over the same period in 2005. And last year, the CTA posted its best ridership numbers since 1992.

Chicago Police say they've brought the crime rate down with more targeted enforcement by the department's mass transit unit. The CTA also has its own security guards who patrol the L stations.

"We kind of put the cops on the dots," said Chicago Police Lt. John Wittenberg, who runs the public transportation detail. "We try to identify emerging crime patterns, so we can move police to those areas."

Wittenberg said his unit concentrates on high-traffic stations in the Loop, such as Dearborn/Washington on the Blue Line and Washington

/State on the Red Line, where theft and other crimes are more common. The Addison and 35th Street L stations are also hot spots on game days because of their proximity to U.S. Cellular and Wrigley fields.

More crimes are typically reported on the L than on buses, which have been equipped with security cameras since 2003. This year, there have been 35 robberies on L platforms and trains, compared with 28 on buses.

CTA rail cars do not have security cameras, but more than two dozen stations are equipped with cameras. The CTA is also ordering new rail cars that will have cameras.

Englewood resident Antrone Moore said the CTA feels safer than it used to. Moore, 31, was almost robbed two years ago by two men who tried to steal his gold chain on a Red Line train. He eluded the men by hopping off at the Cermak-Chinatown station, where police caught them.

"You have to be street-smart, [but] it's not that bad," Moore said. "Since they put the cameras up, I think people think twice."

'FEELING OF SAFETY'

Margot Brandenburg, 27, who lives in Hyde Park, said the regular presence of police officers at CTA stations during peak hours "creates the feeling of safety," though she admits she's hesitant to use the L late at night, particularly when traveling outside of the Loop.

Chicago Police use a combination of uniformed and plainclothes officers to patrol stations, trains and buses. Some officers also volunteer to park their squad cars outside L stations on their days off, Wittenberg said.

Still, it's up to riders to protect themselves, he said.

"Have your fare ready. Keep track of your backpack and purses. Just be aware of your surroundings," he said.

There is an alternative. Continental Express, shuttle vans, 2 ride for $36. They will also pick you up and, I assume, take you to Lincoln Park and probably other neighborhoods. It's a worry-free option.

Generally, I think the el is safe, but the Blue Line does not have the best reputation (it runs through some tough neighborhoods), and it's always a little less safe at night. And travellers are easy targets; in fact thieves apparently target travellers specifically, as we all know. So if you have a wife and luggage and such, why not take the shuttle? It probably costs about half as much as a cab, and you won't have that to worry about between now and then. Better safe than sorry.

I would not do it at Midnight, even though nothing most likely will happen, you be in the wrong place at the wrong time, drunks, drugs and gangs may cross your path....doubt it, but, take the Airport Shuttle for $21 or Share a Taxi at the taxi stand for $19 PP.

A taxi is $40 with tip to center of Downtown.

The average passenger on the laborers from Ohare area, or Downtown, but, I am a guy, not a woman...