Commuting from Oak Park to Libertyville

June 10, 2011 7:01 AM

Looking for options for commuting from the near west suburbs to the far north suburbs in Chicagoland.

A friend needs to commute from Oak Park to Libertyville for the next 4 months or so. This is for a job with the normal 8-5 ish hours.

We've seen a couple of commuting websites but they don't look all that legit or active. Can you recommend any specific sites? (The train isn't an option because it's not within walking distance of the Libertyville location and Pace Rideshare doesn't show any commutes for that route.)

Also, if anybody is doing that commute, please send MeMail. Thanks.

posted by who squared to travel & transportation around Chicago, IL (8 answers total)

That's going to be brutal. Does the company have an option to pick people up from the train station in Libertyville? I know, for example, that Motorola has a shuttle from Arlington Park to Schaumburg; some smaller companies will do that, too. If not, I see cabs at Metra stations all the time. Maybe this person can get a standing cab order.
posted by sugarfish at 7:27 AM on June 10, 2011

yeah, if s/he doesn't have a car, the train is going to be pretty much the only option. if he had a bike he could take the cta (el) downtown and transfer to the metra train going north, then bike from the libertyville station to wherever the job is.

but still, this seems like a completely hellish commute. without a car i imagine it will take upwards of 2 hours to do it, each way. even with a car this would be a long, crappy commute. does he have to live in oak park??
posted by GastrocNemesis at 7:46 AM on June 10, 2011

If it's a commute by car, it might not be the worst commute in Chicago. 290 West to 294 N in the morning is more-or-less a reverse commute. If your friend has no car, this will not be a fun ride at all.
posted by achmorrison at 8:18 AM on June 10, 2011

Moving isn't an option.

Actually, GastrocNemesis, taking the 294, the drive is only an hour (outside rush hours anyway).

A standing cab order is something that wasn't considered. Thanks, sugarfish.
posted by who squared at 8:19 AM on June 10, 2011

What about a zip car or iGo?
posted by achmorrison at 12:04 PM on June 10, 2011

I'm commuting from the South Side to Grayslake, and have been for the last year. It sucks. No two ways about it. Door to door can be as short as 45 minutes, but 2 hours is the minimum I allow for when driving. Check the Metra schedule too. MD-N can't get me to Grayslake before 8:30, and afternoon, I can be on the train at 4:30 or after 7, nothing in between. My own schedule is complicated by the fact that my wife works 3 days a week in the hospital district, and 2 in Morton Grove. Also, our kid's day care is in Skokie.

That said, if you can flex the schedule to be able to use Metra, you're better off that way, as at least you can spend the two hours relaxing or being productive. If driving, I've found that 120 is generally better than the tollway.

If nothing else, you can share my tale of woe with your friend, so they say "Well, my commute doesn't suck as much as that guy's."

(I've got a co-worker who lives in Indiana too.)
posted by Morydd at 1:30 PM on June 10, 2011

if he had a bike he could take the cta (el) downtown and transfer to the metra train going north, then bike from the libertyville station to wherever the job is.

Except that bikes aren't allowed on Metra or the L during rush hour. Instead he would leave a crappy bike locked up in Libertyville and not take it on the train.
posted by Bunglegirl at 9:16 PM on June 10, 2011

This question seems to be about finding the best way to do this, and it seems pretty clear to me. This is a car commute, and it's not horrible. Anything with a train or a carpool is going to be harder than driving. It's not great to spend a bunch of time in the car every day, but in the grand scheme of human endeavours there have been a lot of greater hardships that 120 minutes in the car a day. You need a reliable car and something you want to do while you're in it.
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 9:41 PM on June 10, 2011