
[Chicago] Leaders from around the world are gathering in Chicago for an important diplomatic summit hosted by President Barack Obama. From May 20-21, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) will hold meetings in Chicago.
This is the first time an American city other than Washington has hosted a NATO summit, and, in addition to world leaders visiting Chicago, about 2,000 journalists from across the world are expected to attend to chronicle the events. (For more information about these events, see the Chicago NATO Summit 2012 website.)
If you are planning on taking public transportation, one should know that safety and security measures implemented by the Secret Service, as well as street closures due to events or public gatherings, may necessitate reroutes on a number of bus lines during the summit and around related events.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will continue to operate the services riders depend on to get around town.
Tips for an easier trip during and in the days surrounding the summit
Check advance notice alerts for any routes you wish to take. You can see current and upcoming alerts about events that affect service in the Alerts / System Status section of the CTA website, or look up your route and see any alerts related to it.
You can sign up to receive e-mail or text alerts about your route from CTA Updates for the latest information about unplanned events that affect service.
Consider riding the "L" during the NATO events. While street closures will necessitate bus reroutes, riders expect rail services to operate normally because they use a private right-of-way (path). Because of this, ‘L’ service may be a better option for you. In fact, CTA claims to be adding additional service and/or capacity, at certain times throughout the event, to accommodate bus riders who might switch to rail.
Impact on Trip Planners and Bus Tracker
Due to technological limitations, short-term, temporary reroutes, are not able to be reflected in trip planners and in Bus Tracker. What does this mean?
This is the first time an American city other than Washington has hosted a NATO summit, and, in addition to world leaders visiting Chicago, about 2,000 journalists from across the world are expected to attend to chronicle the events. (For more information about these events, see the Chicago NATO Summit 2012 website.)
If you are planning on taking public transportation, one should know that safety and security measures implemented by the Secret Service, as well as street closures due to events or public gatherings, may necessitate reroutes on a number of bus lines during the summit and around related events.
The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) will continue to operate the services riders depend on to get around town.
Tips for an easier trip during and in the days surrounding the summit
Check advance notice alerts for any routes you wish to take. You can see current and upcoming alerts about events that affect service in the Alerts / System Status section of the CTA website, or look up your route and see any alerts related to it.
You can sign up to receive e-mail or text alerts about your route from CTA Updates for the latest information about unplanned events that affect service.
Consider riding the "L" during the NATO events. While street closures will necessitate bus reroutes, riders expect rail services to operate normally because they use a private right-of-way (path). Because of this, ‘L’ service may be a better option for you. In fact, CTA claims to be adding additional service and/or capacity, at certain times throughout the event, to accommodate bus riders who might switch to rail.
Impact on Trip Planners and Bus Tracker
Due to technological limitations, short-term, temporary reroutes, are not able to be reflected in trip planners and in Bus Tracker. What does this mean?
- Google Transit and the RTA’s Goroo trip planners will provide directions for regularly scheduled service. Reroutes will not be reflected in these systems, so be sure to check alerts to see if your service will be affected.
- Bus Tracker is unable to make predictions for buses that have gone off of their usual route because it isn’t able to automatically anticipate when a bus will re-join its usual route. While Bus Tracker will continue to work normally for most routes and stops, buses that are presently off-route will not show in predictions at stops further down the route until it is back on its normal path.