Free shuttle buses return for Bears fans to get to Soldier Field from Millennium Park garage

A popular option for Bears fans to get to Soldier Field on game days is back this season after it was temporarily discontinued last year.

For more than a decade, one of the easiest ways to get in and out of Soldier Field for Bears games was the free shuttle that ran from the Millenium Park garage to the 18th Street turnaround just south of the stadium.

Last year, that free shuttle unexpectedly went away, leaving thousands of fans without an easy way to get from the Millennium Park garage to the stadium, but now the buses are back with some improvements. 

Thousands of Bears fans attending Sunday's home opener will board the shuttle buses and avoid gameday traffic by riding the private access roads between the Millennium Park garage and Soldier Field, getting to the stadium in a matter of minutes.

The free bus service didn't run last season for the first time in over a decade. Millennium Garages chief revenue officer Paul Sanett said it was strictly a financial decision. 

"It was a horrible decision to make. I mean, we knew this was a beloved service," he said. "As soon as we paused it, we heard back from the fans almost immediately that this was something they loved and they really wanted us to keep running." 

Geico is sponsoring the free shuttle service for all nine home games this season, and possibly the playoffs. The buses have been upgraded from school buses to coaches.

Sanett said about a dozen buses take up to 3,000 fans to every home game.

"It's going to be efficient, it's going to be effective, and the best of all it continues to be free. Fans don't have to pay a penny to use it," he said.

The buses leave from Lower Randolph in the Millennium Park garage and drop off fans at the base of the 18th Street Pedestrian Bridge. 

Bus service begins three hours before kickoff, and ends two hours after the final whistle. 

The sponsorship with Geico came together within the past week or so. It's a one-year deal, but has the potential to become a long-term agreement.