Travel Tips from Dauber, part 3: More Miscellanea

As with my previous installment, this will be very Chicago-centric...

MASS TRANSIT TRAINS

As a general rule, always buy your train ticket at the station, unless there's no ticket agent or ticket machine. There's usually a surcharge if you buy your ticket in the train when you could buy it at the station. On the Chicago area's Metra system, they charge an additional $2 if you get your ticket in the train if there's a ticket agent available. On New Jersey Transit, the additional fee is $5.

When in Chicago during a busy tourist time, like Taste of Chicago, do not take CTA out of the Loop -- especially the bus or the Blue Line el. Trust me. Take a cab.

AIR TRAVEL

Cell Phone Lots

If you find yourself picking somebody up at the airport, you'll probably be happy to know that, at least at the two major Chicago airports, they've recently opened what are called "cell phone lots." If you're picking somebody up, you can park in the cell lot for up to an hour, but you must stay with your vehicle the whole time. It doesn't cost anything to park there, though. The purpose of the "cell phone lot" is basically to help you save money: you sit (or stand!) there and wait for the person you're picking up to call you and let you know that the plane has landed and that it's a good time to drive over to pick that person up. It's a good alternative to going straight into the regular parking lot and paying hourly parking rates while you wait for the potentially delayed plane!

However, there is a down side to this. Chances are you'll be waiting with a bunch of other people who are waiting for the same flight to arrive. Once the plane lands and those people get cell phone calls, they're all heading to pick up the traveler at the same time. This causes kind of a traffic jam, especially if the airport is small. I recommend that you kind of approximate your timing so that you can leave a few minutes before the landing. Easier said than done, but hey, it's worth a shot.

The Legroom In Coach

Are you tall and need extra legroom? If your airline assigns you a seat (unlike Southwest, in which it's basically first-come first-served), it just might be possible to request to change to a seat behind an exit row while you're at the airport. They're hard to get when you buy your ticket online.