Travel To and From Madison

Please wait to begin making travel arrangements until we email you about it. We plan to email everyone about travel in early June, but are starting with a small group to find and fix issues.

Whether we offered to pay your travel costs or not, please make sure that we get a copy of your travel plans so that we know when to expect you here and can plan accurately. (If we offered to pay for your hotel room, we will reserve your hotel room for you.)

Find the numbered section below that applies to you:

1. We Offered to Pay for Your Travel

We want to find reasonable and comfortable travel options for you. At the same time, we must stay within budget and follow University rules about arranging and paying for your travel costs. Let’s work together to find something that makes sense for everyone.

Here are ideas that have helped some School travelers in past years:

• If you are near Madison, consider driving; we can reimburse mileage and tolls up to a point, plus parking. Or look into bus routes, especially from larger cities like Chicago. The buses are very comfortable, have wi-fi, and run frequently.

• If you fly, try to get flights to and from Madison (MSN) itself. In some cases, we may ask you to consider flying to Milwaukee (1½ hours away) or Chicago (2½ hours away), then taking a direct bus to Madison; we do this only when the costs or itinerary options to Madison are terrible.

• If you fly, be flexible about departure times — early and late flights are often the least expensive. We do not like very early or very late flights any more than you do, so we will work hard to find reasonable flight times.

Note: Please try to complete your travel plans before about July 4th, when rates may go up.

Travel by Airplane

Do NOT buy your own airline tickets. University rules say that our travel agency, Travel Incorporated, must buy your tickets.

Note: The University is changing travel agencies on 1 July 2024. Please try to complete air travel arrangements by Thursday, 27 June 2024.

Use the following information to get air travel tickets:

• In the travel email that we sent you, click the link to Travel Incorporated’s “UWS Traveler Booking Form” (on smartsheet.com); on that form:

  • Group Number: Copy and paste this: UWMSN061523
  • Traveler Type: Select “Guest”
  • Concur Profile? Select “No”
  • Destination Type: Select “Domestic”
  • Will a rental be needed? Select “No” — we cannot pay for a rental car
  • Are Hotel Accommodations needed? Select “No” — we will arrange your hotel room separately
  • Guest Information: Please contact us first to bring guests

• We must review and approve some itineraries. Travel Inc can purchase tickets directly in many cases. But if the Travel Inc agent says that your trip must be reviewed, do not worry! It just means that we need to check the budget, options, and UW rules. We hope to approve your first choice, or we will work with you and Travel Inc to find another reasonable one.

  Common reasons for a trip needing review are: total trip cost over $800, travel starting and ending at different locations, and travel on dates other than August 4 and 10.

• Approval takes time, so it may take 1–2 days to get confirmation. Airplane tickets cannot be held without purchase over a weekend, so avoid contacting Travel Inc late on Fridays.

• Please be considerate of the Travel Inc agent(s) you work with. They work hard to find good options for you, but they must also follow our rules. If you feel that they are not providing the options that you want, you should email us. We will help resolve any issues. Do not argue with the Travel Inc agents, especially about options you find online — there are many reasons why that option might not be available to us.

Travel by Bus

For some nearby locations, or in addition to air travel to Chicago or Milwaukee, it may be helpful to take a bus to Madison. Bus companies that School travelers have used often in the past are:

• Van Galder Bus, especially from Chicago
• Badger Bus, especially from Milwaukee

To get bus tickets, pick one method:

• Ask us to buy bus tickets for you in advance. This is the easiest option all around. Just email us at school@osg-htc.org; include your desired travel dates (tickets are not specific by time), and start and end bus stations or stops.

• Buy bus tickets for yourself. You may purchase bus tickets yourself before or on the day of travel. If you purchase your own tickets, you must get approval from the School for the estimated cost first, then request reimbursement from us after the School.

  If you purchase your own tickets, save the original receipt (even if by email). It is best to have a detailed receipt (including your name, itinerary, date of purchase, and total amount paid), but a regular ticket stub (e.g., without your name or date) should work fine. Just get what you can!

  Be sure to email us with your bus plans, including:

  • Transportation provider(s) (e.g., Van Galder bus)
  • Arrival date and approximate time
  • Departure date and approximate time
  • Arrival and departure location within Madison
  • Actual or estimated cost (indicate which)

Travel by Personal Car

If you are driving to Madison, you will be reimbursed the mileage rate of $0.670 per mile for the shortest round-trip distance (as calculated by Google Maps), plus tolls. Also, we will pay for parking costs for the week at the hotel in Madison (but not elsewhere). We recommend keeping your receipts for tolls.

Note: Due to the high mileage reimbursement rate, driving can be an expensive option! We reserve the right to limit your total driving reimbursement, so work with us on the details.

To travel by personal car, please check with us first. We may search for comparable flight options, to make sure that driving is the least expensive method.

Be sure to email us with your travel plans as soon as possible. Try to include:

• Departure date from home, location (for mileage calculation), and approximate time of arrival in Madison
• Departure date and approximate time from Madison, and return location (for mileage calculation) if different than above

2. We Are Not Paying for Your Travel

If you are paying for your own travel or if someone else is paying for it, go ahead and make your travel arrangements now! Just remember to arrive on Sunday, August 4, before about 5:00 pm and depart on Saturday, August 10, or whatever dates we suggested directly to you. For other travel dates, check with us first, please!

Be sure to email us with your travel plans as soon as possible. Try to include:

• Transportation provider(s) (e.g., airline)
• Arrival date and approximate time
• Departure date and approximate time
• Arrival and departure location within Madison (e.g., airport, bus station, etc.)