What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s Eve? Getting to and from your ball-dropping fun in one piece, that’s what. (Oh, and leaving this craphole of a year behind you. Because 2016.)
There’s no doubt your night will feature a high-spirited countdown, well wishes to family and friends and lots of booze, er, champagne toasts (*wink-wink*). So to avoid being the person at the party with no way home after midnight, here are some tips to help you navigate Chicago on the eve of 2017.
A party downtown
Chi-Town Rising, the city’s second annual outdoor NYE celebration, will take place from 8 p.m.-12:30 a.m. Saturday (into Sunday). So if you’re planning on passing through downtown, I’d suggest leaving yourself extra time to get around. Organizers expect more than 100,000 people will be in attendance throughout the day, which could mean horrendous traffic.
There will be two free viewing areas, one on either side of the Chicago River, immediately east of Michigan Avenue. The outdoor areas will have food and beverage concessions and offer views of the midnight fireworks display and the star that will rise up the west tower of the Hyatt Regency Chicago.
Although entry is free, tickets are required and can be secured on the Chi-Town Rising website.
Ride the CTA for free
Starting at 10 p.m. Saturday and continuing through 4 a.m. Sunday, the CTA will offer free rides on all buses and trains.
For the past five years, Miller Lite has sponsored the popular NYE program, which promotes safety and responsible drinking by making CTA the designated driver.
“We will also be offering extra service including longer trains and more frequent service across several rail lines as well as extended hours and/or more frequent service on several bus routes,” CTA spokesman Jeff Tolman wrote in an email.
Fun fact: The CTA has been offering free or 1-cent rides on New Year’s Eve for more than 30 years.
Rideshare to the rescue
This should go without saying, but if you’ve had anything to drink at that New Year’s Eve soiree, please do NOT get behind the wheel of a vehicle. As long as you haven’t lost your phone amid the merriment (we’ve all been there), why not order an Uber or Lyft to take you home?
“On New Year’s Eve, demand for Uber tends to peak between 12:30 and 3 a.m., when everyone is leaving the party,” Uber spokeswoman Molly Spaeth wrote in an email.
To avoid paying a ridiculous surge charge, check the price of a trip before you ride, which you can do in the Uber or Lyft app. If you have to stay a little later at your NYE get-together to avoid shelling out a month’s rent, so be it.
“My tip to passengers would be to avoid the peak demand times around 8-10 p.m. and 1-3 a.m., and always check their Prime Time prices before confirming,” Chicago Lyft driver Matt Nolan wrote in an email.
“With Chicago’s cold winters, drivers should be extra cautious over New Year’s Eve and drive slowly in case of unexpected ice on the road,” he added.
Pro tip: Order your Uber or Lyft home right around midnight. Demand tends to be quietest as the ball drops.
Another way to save a few bucks is to split the fare of a ride with a friend, or make new friends in an UberPool or Lyft Line.
Don’t throw manners to the wind on NYE, either. Be respectful of your driver (aka don’t be a garbage human in the early hours of 2017, or ever really). If you’re going to vomit, do it before you enter or after you exit the vehicle. If you find something in the back of the car that isn’t yours, let your driver know; don’t just take it (because that’s called stealing).
“New Year’s Eve is always very busy, and our number one priority is for drivers and passengers is to keep safety top of mind when they’re out on the roads,” Lyft spokeswoman Mary Caroline Pruitt wrote in an email.
So please, have yourself a ball this NYE but be safe about it. See you all in 2017!
@RianneCoale | rcoale@redeyechicago.com
The Transit Diaries runs in RedEye’s print edition every Tuesday on Page 4. If you have a story you’d like to share, email us at redeye@redeyechicago.com with “Transit Diaries” in the subject line.
