Rideshare users in a single-user ride starting or ending between 6 a.m.-10 p.m. everyday in the newly established zones will be charged the additional $1.50 fee. Shared rides will see an added 60-cent fee, also for trips between 6 a.m.-10 p.m. but on weekdays only.<\/p>\n
Rides to and from McCormick Place are exempt from the expansion, but an existing $5 surcharge to take an Uber or Lyft there \u2014 as well as to O\u2019Hare and Midway airports and Navy Pier \u2014 is still in effect, according to a city website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The expansion of the surcharge zones was crafted as part of the city\u2019s 2026 budget, which the City Council passed in late December<\/a> after a majority of alderpeople backed an \u201calternative\u201d spending plan that killed Mayor Brandon Johnson\u2019s proposed corporate head tax and made other amendments.<\/p>\n The changes that went into effect this month also include a 5-cent hike to the grocery bag tax and an increased \u201cboat mooring\u201d fee for people docking their boats at Chicago harbors. A new tax on retail liquor sales is set to be implemented in March.<\/p>\n Congestion \u201czone one\u201d will impact rideshare riders in all of Downtown and parts of West Town, Bucktown, Lincoln Park, Lakeview, Uptown, the South Loop and Pilsen.<\/p>\n The new Hyde Park congestion zone is bordered by Hyde Park Boulevard to the north, Cottage Grove Avenue to the west, 60th Street to the south and DuSable Lake Shore Drive to the east.<\/p>\n The Downtown rideshare surcharge zone first went into effect in 2020<\/a>. Its former boundaries \u2014 which were limited to Downtown, the Near North Side, the West Loop and parts of the South Loop \u2014 can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n On top of the new rideshare fees, Chicago shoppers will also now pay 15 cents per shopping bag, with 1 cent going back to the retailer.<\/p>\n This is the second year in a row the grocery bag tax has been hiked: Johnson\u2019s 2025 budget raised it from 7 to 10 cents. The latest increase was proposed as part of the so-called alternative budget plan backed by the City Council.<\/p>\n The city\u2019s boat mooring tax also increased this year from 7 percent to 23.25 percent<\/a>, although nonprofits are exempt and will continue to pay the former rate.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Screen-Shot-2026-01-06-at-9.53.05-AM-787x1024.png\")
A map of two newly-established \u201ccongestion zones\u201d where rideshare users will have to pay an added $1.50 charge per ride. Credit: Provided\/City of Chicago<\/p>\n