This is the official out-of-towner's shuttle thread.

I will arrange for transportation to get everyone to and from Otis' house the night of the party if there's enough interest. Last year we had a mini-bus with about 25 people on it go from downtown with one stop on the North side of Chicago up to Otis' and back. I don't remember the exact cost, but it was somewhere in the neighborhood of $25-$30 per person return.

The other options are to drive up to Otis' (not recommended if you're drinking of course), or take cabs (I really don't know the cost, but Otis' is quite far from the city).

So, if there's enough interest I'll look into a shuttle bus for us. The preffered way to do this is choose a downtown spot for pickup and have everyone meet there. We can discuss times for going and returning home, but these must be fixed times. I will collect from everyone on the bus, with a little extra $ thrown in for overages (I ate about $200 last year for extra time etc...). If we don't go over the $ will go to a clean-up fund for Otis and his Mrs.

Please chime in below to let me know if you're interested. I will tally a list and figure out how to do this.

Steve8 for 2. Thanks for arranging this again Grossie.

We are in for 2. Thanks for doing this. (Was it my not-so-subtle hint on the other thread?)

Certainly in for 1. The arrangement is greatly appreciated!!

Grossie, it's been two years since I've done the cab rout around the burbs, but it should be about the same.

It's about $90 out to Otis' from the loop. I think it's $54 back to the loop.

Basically a city cab is meter rate until you hit the city limits, then it's 1 1/2 the meter. From the burbs to the loop it's a fixed rate. You'll need two different cab companies. The burb cabs can't come pick you up in the city and the city cabs can't come to the burbs.

That sounds about right, Paul.

Are you coming to the CDP? If so, are you in for the shuttle?

MLV- I was feeling the pressure. Your last comment gave me the shove I needed to start things rolling.

Well, I for one appreciate it! Looking forward to meeting you live and in person!

grossie,

Put me down for 2 on the shuttle also. Thanks!

The list so far:

Grossie (3)
Steve8 (2)
MLV (2)
KSC (1)
Emilio (2)

Total=10

That's not very many! Unless we get more interest our options will be very limited. At 10 it looks like a limo will be the thing. We'll probably need more than 20 to make a minibus make sense.

Anyone else?

As of this time I have done no work on the shuttle since there's been so little interest.

Anyone else? Unless we get some more numbers it will probably make sense to just cab or limo.

how are all the other out of towners getting there??? Well, whatever works out best is fine with us.

Grossie, thank you, but no shuttle for us. Matt has a race and it will be all we can do to get back from that so he can shower before we head up to the 'burbs.

Baird, Dok, Thomas and the Texas contingent, get on the bus.

Ok, apparently the interest isn't there, so I'm calling off the bus idea.

I will look into some limo/car services. It won't make sense for us all to go together, so once I do my investigating I will post what I've found and let you guys work it our for yourselves.

Well this is dissappointing - Thanks for looking into this Grossie.

I also want to thank you Grossie, for expending your efforts on this. Unfortunate that it didn't work out. Your kindness and attention really are appreciated.

Put me and wife and son on the shuttle (3)

Um, thomas, read a few posts up... not enough interest for a shuttle.

OK, since it looks like we are on our own... does anyone have any suggestions for getting to Otis' from downtown???

mlv/all-

I have made some inquiries regarding limousines. If you go to www.limos.com you can check out a number of limo companies in Chicago. It seems like a ride to Otis's can be had for about $100 for an 8 person limo. The way home would be a little more because of late night surcharges.

I don't use any one limo company regularly in Chicago. I have made some preliminary inquiries using limos.com and found a number of companies that say they're available. I haven't gotten off my behind and called anyone yet. I mey get to it on Wednesday. I don't think there will be any problems. I will post back with further info as I find it.

Also, suburban cabs are available to get home. Otis thinks it's about $50-$60 into the city from his place. Those will seat 4 ppl max, but there's more flexibility in not having to call too far in advance.

A group of 8 in a limo to Otis' place for $100 and a cab ride back downtown sounds like a good plan to me. Anyone else interested?

MLV and I were considering alternative options, but if we can get 8 people this may make sense. My guess is that MLV and I can bring in Emilio and Mrs. E. That would leave 2 spots to fill up the car to make it the most economical.

I will check with the Florida contingent.

quote:

A group of 8 in a limo to Otis' place for $100 and a cab ride back downtown sounds like a good plan to me. Anyone else interested?

we are in. Emilio/Mrs. E & JC and I are all staying at the same place, too. Thanks!!!

if you want to email me directly feel free... stefandari at yahoo dot com.

Well that sounds like 8 because along with me and J, I'm pretty sure KSC02 and D will be in too. MLV, I'll send you an e-mail as soon as I get a more stable Wi-Fi signal.

quote:

Originally posted by steve8:
Well that sounds like 8 because along with me and J, I'm pretty sure KSC02 and D will be in too. MLV, I'll send you an e-mail as soon as I get a more stable Wi-Fi signal.

Absolutely! Count D & I in. Sounds like the way to go