Uber should land at O'Hare for pickups before Thanksgiving
Suburbanites should be able to ride-share their way home from O'Hare or Midway international airports as of Nov. 18, assuming Chicago finalizes a tentative plan released this week.
The move in time for the busy Thanksgiving travel season signals the start of an intensified rivalry between traditional cab companies and newbies like Uber or Lyft.
For domestic flights at O'Hare, the proposed new rules would require ride-share cars to wait in a holding area until summoned by passengers, then pick up customers on the upper (departures) level at two designated spots between Terminals 1 and 2, and between Terminals 2 and 3.
International travelers would be met on the lower level at Terminal 5.
At Midway, ride-shares would be authorized to pick up passengers on the upper level at Door 1.
The public can comment on the proposed new rules for the next two weeks,
said Mika Stambaugh, spokeswoman for the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
"We will take into consideration public comment," she said.
While Uber cabbies said they can't wait to get a crack at the lucrative airport market, taxi drivers are concerned about what ride-shares will mean for their bottom lines.
American Taxi co-owner John Coyne said the suburban service is ready to compete, adding he plans to ramp up its own "ride-share" program that pairs customers headed to similar destinations and offers a discount.