Currently, you can request an uberX ride to O'Hare and Midway airports, but getting picked up there is a whole different story. Chicago is one of the last cities to ban ride sharing services at its airports, a status quo that's been maintained in part by a pesky taxi cab lobby at City Hall. Last month, Los Angeles began allowing services like Uber and Lyft to scoop passengers at LAX, but those West Coasters aren't nearly as reliant on cabs as Chicagoans.
A new plan snuck into Mayor Rahm Emanuel's budget proposal would enable customers landing at O'Hare and Midway to request rides from Uber and Lyft, and it would bring in an estimated $50 million in annual revenue to the city. The proposal would bring a $5 charge for each ride sharing service pickup at Chicago's airports, as well as McCormick Place. The current fee for taxis to pick up or drop someone at O'Hare or Midway is $2.
Uber recently launched a petition for Chicago's aldermen to support uberX airport pickups. In a statement, the company said a lack of ride sharing service at the airports "means longer taxi lines and inconvenience for [riders], and too many empty car trips back to the city for ride share drivers."
If passed, the move would certainly piss off taxi cab companies and drivers across the city, and would likely bring more protests across town. But if it means less wait time to get home from O'Hare or Midway, then Chicagoans will probably not be too upset.