Travel in Madison¶

You are responsible for your own transportation within Madison, but we will help coordinate and can reimburse costs between the airport and your hotel.

Travel Between the Madison Airport and Your Hotel¶

Two of the three School hotels (DoubleTree and HotelRED) provide free shuttle service from and back to the Madison airport, when available. For the Union Hotel, guests may take taxis. We will help organize groups to take shuttles and taxis, based on arrival and departure times. Shuttle/taxi groups will be formed and emailed shortly before the School itself.

In general, a hotel shuttle is free and direct, so it is the best option between airport and hotel. If a shuttle is not available, you may take a taxi or ride-sharing service and be reimbursed after the School. There are several good taxi companies in Madison, including Green Cab, Badger Cab, and Union Cab, and both Lyft and Uber are active in Madison. Taxis are readily available at the Madison airport, but nearly everywhere else (e.g., from your hotel back to the airport), you should contact the company and request a ride or make a reservation in advance. Note that we can reimburse you only for taxi or ride-sharing rides between the airport and hotel/campus area.

Travel On and Near Campus¶

The DoubleTree hotel is ¾ of a mile (1.1 km) from the classroom building; HotelRED is much closer, and the Union South Hotel is next to the building. There are many good options for getting between your hotel and the School, plus other sights, restaurants, and other activities in Madison.

Walking¶

It is easy to walk in and around the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Use a mapping app or ask us or your hotel for a map. In particular, State Street — which connects the Capitol Square with the UW campus — is full of great shops and restaurants and is worth strolling along while you are here.

Hotel Shuttle¶

See above; two hotels have free shuttles that can be used to transport students between the hotel and the School… and other places. Ask the hotel for more information and availability.

City of Madison Metro Bus Service¶

Many Madison Metro buses stop near the hotels and pass through the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus. Bus fare is $2.00, and transfers from one route to another are free. If you plan to use buses to travel to and from the School every day, contact us, and we may be able to buy a bus pass for you or explain how to do so.

The official Madison Metro Bus page provides route maps and times for all Madison buses. Google Maps and the Wisconsin phone app also do a good job.

As listed above in the airport-hotel section, there are several taxi companies and ride sharing services in Madison. Note: We can reimburse you only for transportation for School purposes, not personal reasons.

Madison BCycle¶

Madison is a great city to bike in, and there is even a short-term bike rental system called BCycle here. For instance, it is possible to pick up a bike at Union South, next to the classroom building, and then drop it off at one of many locations around the central part of Madison. See the website for more details. While not terribly expensive, this is not a cost that we can reimburse.