Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuelmade the news official on 14 June : Elon Musk and its Boring Company will be responsible for building a high-speed line linking the airport to the city centre, called the "Chicago Express Loop. While the call for tenders called for the current journey time to be halved - and therefore to fall below 20 minutes - the founder of Tesla wanted to go further with a 12-minute express link. The other commitment The Boring Company will have to meet is to offer rates twice as low at current taxi and VTC prices. In fact, Elon Musk and his company will make their money on transport tickets, paying for the construction of the project at their own expense.
According to the outline of this project O'Hare Express unveiled on Thursday, business travellers will board autonomous electric shuttles equipped with Wi-Fi. It is expected to seat up to 16 passengers and travel at speeds in excess of 200 km/h. Departures are scheduled every 30 seconds, 20 hours a day. The timetable for entry into service has yet to be finalised.
The Chicago authorities were quick to point out that every day 20,000 passengers transit between O'Hare airport and the Chicago Central Business District a figure that should even exceed the 35,000 by 2045.
" Bringing Chicago's economic centres closer together will enable the city to remain at the cutting edge of progress, create thousands of jobs and make our city stronger for future generations".congratulated the Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, adding in passing : "This project will help Chicago write the next chapter in our legacy of innovation. ".
