Coach Bus to Midway?

NotreDame2015
Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:02:19 +0000

This is what I have been told by friends whose kids have been at ND for several years (I have a freshman at ND):

you can buy a ticket online or at the travel agency in LaFun. You are not guaranteed a seat and boarding is first come, first served. However, extra busses are brought in for high volume times like Friday before fall break. Advance sales give them a better idea of how many passengers to expect.

when busses are completely filled on campus, they tend to go directly to the airports since they cannot pick up any additional passengers.

the schedule posted on the Coach website lists the expected arrival time at each airport. For example, the 2:10 bus is scheduled to arrive at Midway at 4:30 (local times, about 3 1/2 hours actual transit time.) I would allow at least two more hours before flight time for security, etc., especially on Fridays and holidays. Also, encourage your child to print his/her boarding pass in advance, and carry on luggage, if possible (reasons: one less line to stand in and if your flight is cancelled, you have your stuff with you.) Weather can be very tricky at Christmas, so allowing more time and not booking the last flight of the day (in case of cancellations) would be good ideas.

I have not heard any horror stories about the busses, but have been told that the trip can be a little creepy at low-student travel times when you may be the only student on the bus. Major break times tend to produce busses full of fellow students.