$2.25 gets you from Midway to Orland Square Mall
Pace Route 379 runs between Chicago Midway’s Main terminal and Orland Square Mall in Orland Park, with a scheduled ride of about 45–60 minutes each way. It is a suburban commuter bus, not an airport shuttle, and it mainly serves people who live or work along 79th Street, Harlem, and La Grange Road.
The bus stop at Midway is outside the Main terminal in the bus/shuttle center, with signs for Pace routes including 379. Regular Pace fare is $2.25 with Ventra or cash as of 2024, and you pay as you board the front door. There is no luggage rack, so larger bags sit on your lap or the floor near your seat.
On weekdays, Route 379 usually comes every 30–60 minutes during the day, then thins out toward late afternoon and early evening. Weekend service exists but is lighter than weekday levels, and some late evening time slots have no service at all. Always check the Pace website or a transit app for the exact schedule for your flight time.
The full ride from Midway to Orland Square Mall often lands inside the 45–60 minute timetable, but traffic on Harlem Avenue and La Grange Road can easily push it longer. Regular riders treat the timetable as an estimate, not a promise, and they add a buffer of at least one trip in case a bus runs late or gets stuck at a long line of signals.
Several locals on forums say 379 is “fine if you live in Orland Park,” but they would not recommend it for visitors with big suitcases or tight connections. Buses can get crowded during commuter peaks near Orland Park job centers and around the mall, especially on school and work days. If your flight time is fixed, avoid planning around a single departure.
What regulars do: they pick a bus that arrives at Midway 60–90 minutes before check-in cutoffs, then aim one trip earlier when possible. At the Orland Square end, they often arrive 10–15 minutes before the scheduled departure and wait at the posted Pace stop near the mall. If you are flying, treat Route 379 as part of your pre-flight buffer, not the last step.
One practical tip: for an early morning or late evening flight, verify the exact first or last 379 trips for that day, then back up your airport arrival by at least one full bus headway so a missed or delayed run does not put your boarding pass at risk.