Off to Chicago? Maybe you’re planning an exciting vacation in the big city, or you’re headed there for business or work. Well, you might want to consider taking advantage of Chicago’s rapid transit system because, as you already know, traffic is a nightmare in the city of Chicago. Unfortunately, it isn’t always easy to access information in regards to the Subway Map routes, especially when it comes to finding estimated arrival times, but as it seems with everything, there’s Chicago Subway Map app for that! If you follow along below, we’ll show you the best options for navigating the Chicago Transit system.
Best Chicago Subway Map App For iPhone
1. Is Metra Late
Is Metra Late is another must-have on your phone. If you need to be on-time for a meeting, Is Metra Late is able to intelligently keep an eye on delays for you. Save your home and work stations, and then the app is able to intelligently switches routes based on the current GPS location.
Open the app, and you’ll be able to almost immediately view upcoming and departed trains, historical performance, schedules, and view real-time train locations.
2. Transit Stop: CTA Tracker
Transit Stop: CTA Tracker might come in number four place, but it’s also one of the cleanest and sharpest subway maps on the market. If you’re consulting Google for your Subway Map needs, Transit Stop: CTA Tracker really puts it to shame with high resolution graphics that are easily visible and easy to navigate around. Transit Stop can eve give you estimated arrival times, with real-time tracking data on all of Chicago’s subway lines, bus routes, and more. This app was even designed to be used offline, even enabling you to look up offline schedules for specific stations across Chicago. There’s even a Location Tracker to show you nearby stations in the event that you don’t know where the nearest is.
Download it now: iTunes
3. Chicago L – Subway Planner
And coming in as third, we have the Chicago L, a subway planner for planning your routes across the busy Chicago metro system. You’ll get instant access to all sorts of Subway Map lines across Chicago and surrounding areas. Not only that, but the app pulls real-time data, giving you real time status information on individual subway lines. Not only that, but you can view the Service Status of many stations without even opening the app! In addition, there are some offline features here, and you can even see real time data without opening the app — just swipe left on your iPhone’s home screen.
Download it now: iTunes
4. Citymapper
Next up, Citymapper comes in as a personal favorite that every traveler should have on their iPhone. It has a beautiful user interface that is easy to navigate, something that you don’t normally see in transit and Subway map apps like this. Citymapper will show you information for Chicago, as well as the surrounding metro area. Not only that, but you can use the app for any other major city or capital. Citymapper will even show you downloadable subway and bus maps for wherever you are (in supported cities). Citymapper has all the usual transit features like bus, subway and train routes and real time departure and arrival times as well. There’s even ridesharing features for bikes, mopeds, and scooters. Citymapper is constantly updated, so you’ll always have all of the latest transit information at your fingertips.
Download it now: iTunes
5. Transit
And finally, as our last contender, but coming in at first place, Transit is an essential that should be on any smartphone with its versatility. Transit is similar to Citymapper in a lot of ways — primarily in design — you get a premium and top user experience with a modern graphical user interface. That said, the actual highlight to Transit is its versatility — Transit supports many more cities across the world, such as in the Asian regions, whereas Citymapper does not. Transit will put subway and bus arrival times at planned routes right at your fingertips. You’ll be able to see any delays, as well as the service status of the transit system that you’re using.
Download it now: iTunes
6. Transit Tracker – Chicago
Transit Tracker – Chicago comes in as number five on our list. Transit Tracker pulls data directly from the official CTA system in order to show you estimated arrival times, planned routes, and more. One of the highlights of this app is that you can see the service status of the transit system in order to avoid any potential delays on your trip through Chicago and the surrounding areas. Transit Tracker has all of the downloadable Subway Map routes as well. This is considered as one of the best Chicago subway app you can get.
Download it now: iTunes
7. onTime Metra CTA
Next up, we’re looking at onTime Metra CTA. Users will be able to easily find the next Metra train schedule in the Chicago area with just a few taps of a button. Designed with commuters in mind, you can easily look up the Metra schedule anytime anywhere without having to carry and dig through paper schedules.
It gives you a lot of information that you wouldn’t otherwise have quick access to as well — tracking numbers, countdown to the next train, holiday schedules, weekday and weekend schedules, and trip duration.
Download it now: App Store
Best Chicago Subway Map App For iPhone Verdict
Here we’ve shown you all of the top applications for navigating Chicago’s dense metro area. Any of these applications will help you around navigate around the crazy system that is Chicago’s rapid transit subway. However, our top two favorites are easily Transit and Citymapper, both applications that are versatile and will work in a variety of different capitals and cities.
Do you have a favorite transit application for iPhone? Let us know what it is in the comments section below!