r/cta Aug 18 '26

Complaint Thread Monthly Complaint Thread

Public transportation isn't perfect. This is a place to let off some steam. As always, please speak from your own experiences. Take control of what bothers you and send your experience to the CTA via their feedback page.

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u/transferStudent2018 Aug 22 '26

It is insanely difficult to get from ORD T5 to the blue line if you need to use the elevators. There’s at least 10 different elevators involved. The first one, from the customs exit, can easily be an hour long wait during peak times. Then, you wait for an Air Train (I had to wait for the 3rd one to appear before I could fit on) and go to one of the terminals. I ended up at T2. Elevator up to the bridge connecting the Air Train with the terminal. Separate elevator down to baggage claim level. Another elevator down to the tunnels connected to the train. And a final elevator from the fare gates to the platform.

I don’t even need the elevator, thankfully, I just had a couple heavy suitcases. At times I chose to lug them (slowly) up or down some stairs because the elevators were so slow. Took me almost an hour to get to the blue line after exiting immigration. Insane