Rideshare congestion zone fee increases, expands to cover most of North Side, Hyde Park
The city hiked its rideshare tax on Tuesday and expanded its congestion surcharge zone from downtown to cover most of the North Side and Hyde Park.
Riders getting picked up or dropped off in the zone — now spanning generally from Foster Avenue to 31st Street to Western Avenue, as well as a second zone covering Hyde Park — will now pay an added $1.50 per ride, in addition to the city's flat $1.13 tax on rideshares.
For shared rides, the weekday congestion zone fee is 60 cents, covering the same expanded zones. The city did not change its $5 rideshare tax on rides coming or going to McCormick Place, Navy Pier and the city's airports.
The changes were part of Chicago’s 2026 budget, which modified the city's existing rideshare fees that went into effect in 2020 to cut down on traffic, and included a surcharge zone that covered the Loop.
The congestion zone fee remains in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily for personal rideshares. The congestion zone fee was initially only charged during weekdays, but it was expanded to seven days a week in January 2025 to help cover a budget gap.
Last summer, Uber refunded riders nearly $1.8 million after incorrectly charging the congestion zone fee outside of those hours. At the time, Uber claimed the surcharges were misapplied to some riders due to a “technical misstep” when updating the company’s system in December 2024 to apply the new daily surcharges. The overcharge spawned an investigation by the city’s Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection.
At the time, Ald. Brendan Reilly (42nd) said he wanted to revisit the $1.50 downtown surcharge in general, since it affects many hospitality workers who use ride-hailing apps to commute from work.
Instead, Reilly was part of a coalition of moderate City Council members who muscled through an alternative revenue package — that included the expanded rideshare taxes — in December that removed Mayor Brandon Johnson's proposed corporate head tax.