Your starting and destination location refers to a street address or landmark that will define the start and finish points to your trip. These can be an address, an intersection, or the location of a bus stop or well known landmark. If you do not know exactly how something is spelled or if you are worried about case, the Trip Planner will be able to find results that are close. For example, if you entered "ILINI Terminal", results will be returned that will either resolve to that location or allow you choose a correct one.
Trip Planner examines all transit stops near your starting location so an itinerary may begin at any of these transit stops. Trip options such as the fastest trip or one with the least walking will modify the results accordingly. Trips which involve greater distance will take more time. If the system cannot find a stop within the walking distance that you indicated, increasing the walking distance or modifying the parameters may return results
Specifying a location is simple. Basic definitions are as follows:
| Category | Example | Explanation |
| Addresses | 512 N Green | An address is defined to be a location with one or more digits. Use only the initial (N,S,E,W) or the street direction. DO NOT use the full word (North,South,East,West) |
| Intersections | Green, Neil | An intersection is defined as a location or street names that contain a comma (,) or ampersand (&). If you intersection is not recognized, try including the type of street in the name (Road, Avenue, etc). If you are still unsuccessful, try another nearby intersection |
| Landmarks | Market Place Mall | Major landmarks
are located to the right in the drop-down list. To quick
jump to a particular landmark, type the first letter of the
name. Once you have selected the particular landmark, it
will be copied into the location field for you. |
The additional trip
options define certain particulars of your trip. You may indicate
whether you require accessible accommodations for your trip. If you
require a lift, a ramp, an elevator or an accessible station, please
choose 'YES' from the drop-down box.
For your walking distance, Trip Planner is set to be a default of 1/2 mile of walking. This means that the maximum distance you prefer to walk is 1/2 mile. You may choose other distances, including 1/4, 3/4, and 1 mile.
Other parameters allow you to plan a trip that:■ is quickest,
■ has the fewest transfers possible, or
■ has the least amount of walking
Trip Planner calculates all aspects of the trip, including the time from the point at which you need to leave to board the first leg of your trip until you arrive at your final destination. It accounts for the time not only spent on transit vehicles, but also includes the time necessary to walk to the first boarding point, to transfer services, and the walk to the final destination. When calculating an itenerary with the least walking distance, Trip Planner will work to provide an itinerary with the absolute minimum walking distance, occasionally producing intermarries which require substantial travel time and distance
Each leg of your itinerary display information about:
| Leg Breakdown | Description | |
| Vehicle to board and direction of the vehicle | Take CTA BUS #36 BROADWAY SOUTHBOUND | |
| NOTE: At your location, a vehicle might not actually be traveling the direction shown. For example, if you are told to board the southbound #151 at Adams & State, the vehicle will actually be traveling west on Adams. However, the vehicle is on its southbound run and so is shown as southbound. | ||
| Narrative walking directions | Turn right on
Meijer Ave. Walk .33 miles S Total walking distance .33 miles |
|
| Where and at what time to board that vehicle | ||
| Where and at what time you will depart that vehicle | Depart: NORTH & CLARK At 03:23 PM | |
| Narrative walking directions | Arrive: DIVISION & CLARK At 03:27 PM | |
You are informed when and where to
transfer, and onto what vehicle. This continues until the itinerary ends
with walking directions to your final destination as entered on the
itinerary request screen. For specific walking directions from a
particular transfer point to another or from your origin to your
departure point, you can click on the Walk icon for detailed, narrative
directions.
At the bottom of the particular itinerary, the cost for the entire trip
will be shown. Both the regular and the reduced fare are
presented.
If there are further possible itineraries, they will be presented
immediately following the first. These itineraries will be
numbered 1-3.