Getting around Evanston
Edens clock, Purple Line platform, two runways.
Evanston is dense, lakefront, and well-connected — which is exactly why a group charter has to plan the clock, not hope the app is right.
The roads. Sheridan Road is the lakefront spine that backs up after games and on summer weekends. Dempster is the west cut toward I-94 and O'Hare. Ridge, Central, and Chicago Avenue feed downtown Evanston. I-94 (Edens) is the fast line south to the Loop and northwest toward the airport once you clear the feeder.
The rails. CTA Purple Line and Metra UP-North from Davis, Main, and Central are a solid solo commute into the Loop or to Ogilvie. They are a poor plan for eight people with roll-aboards, an early ORD departure, or a night that runs past the last train. Door-to-door coach wins that argument.
The runways. O'Hare (ORD) is the northwest haul: Dempster to I-94 to I-90, 25–45 minutes with a real rush-hour pad. Midway (MDW) is the longer south option and we still quote it when the itinerary says so. Both get live flight tracking. We do not quote a best-case map time and then "see how it goes."