Ah okay. It's all just common sense really, but as you are new to it; allow plenty of time. Boarding is a bit like boarding an aircraft with Amtrak, you will board through a gate where you show your ticket. You then walk to the platform where you show the ticket again at the door where the conductor is who will direct you to your seat. It's fairly simple, but a bit more structured than boarding a train in the UK. There are plenty of staff at Chicago to assist you. It's also worth exploring the historic station if you can arrive early enough to do so.
I don't use porter service. Uber I presume is an app-based payment system only like in UK? I will arrive only with bank notes, but will gain smaller cash as my trip goes on. I always give waiting staff in restaurant a few pounds in UK so no different really.
Waiting staff will expect 20% as a tipping rate, anything less will be thought of as rude. If ordering drinks from a bar a tip of $1 a drink is expected. I always avoid having my bags carried for me at hotels so I don’t have to tip - generally I’ve just arrived and only have big notes!
One of the most interesting things about US train travel I find is the relationship between the rail lines and communities you travel through - often the reason for the place to be there will have originally been because the railway went there first (unlike in UKL/Europe) so you do find rail lines that run down or beside what is / was the 'main street' in some cases.
I was advised that 'service staff' on the train would expect tips, but 'train crew' staff would not - eg the conductor/ticket checker. So you might tip at the buffet counter on a daytime train, but not the person we would call the Guard, or a person at a station ticket office / info desk.
Conventional taxis have pretty much disappeared in the USA outside the largest cities. Uber is there, just check your App works. If you don't tip the driver AT LEAST 20% on top of the fare expect a face-to-face hassle!
OK this seems very different. I thought Uber did not allow any payments other than via the app. My smallest notes are 5 dollars. I will try to prepare to have as much cash as I can.Ann Arbor is an intermediate stop on the three-times daily Chicago to Detroit service, one of the relatively few such 'frequent' operations in the USA. It's broadly like a UK train, get there on time, follow the signs, etc. If you don't visit Chicago Union station beforehand then do allow time to explore it and take photos as described above. Like many major US stations the classic building is a real interest; the tracks where the trains are is a rough and gloomy industrial add-on in comparison, and can't be accessed until your train is ready.
The initial departure from Chicago has a lot of rail interest on both sides from the still significant number of US rail companies that serve and interchange there, so have your camera ready at the window. The scene can look familiar, but it is surprising just how many technical rail terms are different there.
Ann Arbor station, in comparison, is a roadside stop in a smallish Midwestern town, dominated by the large university, whose students make up a significant proportion of Amtrak's passengers there. Compared to other equivalent Michigan cities, a number of which which have lost their car manufacturing plants over the last generation, it's better than those, although I've never got out there, only passed through. Like other such intermediate stations, Amtrak will tell you to arrive at least 30 minutes before train time, which as you can just walk onto the length of the platform from the adjacent street is more than a little silly.
Conventional taxis have pretty much disappeared in the USA outside the largest cities. Uber is there, just check your App works. If you don't tip the driver AT LEAST 20% on top of the fare expect a face-to-face hassle!
USA still uses notes for USD 1, and coins have limited use nowadays.
aren't the chicago airports accessible by public transport now if you don't want to use a taxi
Yes, I used the CTA 'Blue Line' subway/transit from downtown to O'Hare over 30 years ago...
Got that sorted using a sim card
Looks like some Amtrak stats here
www.amtrak.com
railroads.dot.gov
The Blue Line "L", as stated, goes right into the airport, Piccadilly Line-style. Unfortunately Union Station, well outside 'The Loop' of downtown Chicago, is not near any convenient L transit station, even with transfers; the nearest is Clinton, actually on the Blue Line, about 3 to 4 blocks south, a bit challenging if you have heavy luggage.
