<p>I want to go home to Chicago in February. I just booked Greyhound tickets. How do I get to the Greyhound station in Indianapolis--is it close enough to the airport to take the Bloomington Shuttle? Will I have to get a taxi? </p>
<p>Thanks</p>
<p>I did that last year; it was not a plesant experience. If you go through with it, this is how it will happen:</p>
<p>5am: Wake up, spend an hour doing morning stuff and remembering things you forgot to pack.
6am: get on the shuttle
7:30am: arrive at airport
7:55am: get on the bus that takes you from the airport to downtown Indy
8:35am: get off the bus, walk the .7 miles from the bus stop to the greyhound station, and wait for the bus (which will be late)
9:45am: get on the greyhound bus
4:00pm: after literally 25 stops, you arrive at the greyhound station in Chicago.</p>
<p>It will be long and unplesant. I had to be in Chicago a certain weekend last year and could find no other ride, so that is what I did. Everything will take longer than you think would.</p>
<p>Try to find another alternative. If you absolutely cannot, this will get you there in 10 hours, give or take 2.</p>
<p>MegaBus is a better option than Greyhound if you plan ahead. I’ve taken it many times. You can get non-stop to Chicago for $1-$10 each way if you order early. 3 1/2 hours Indy to Chicago. Go to their website everyday until the February schedule is posted. [megabus.com</a> - low cost, daily, express bus service in the US](<a href=“megabus.com | Low cost bus tickets”>megabus.com | Low cost bus tickets)</p>
<p>Route would be:</p>
<p>To Chicago:</p>
<p>shuttle to Indy Airport;
IndyGo Bus #8 from Indy Airport the corner of Ohio and Delaware streets;
walk two blocks south to Delaware and Washington streets;
catch Megabus to Union Station in Chicago.</p>
<p>From Chicago:</p>
<p>catch Megabus at Union Station, ride to Delaware and Washington streets in Indy;
Catch IndyGo #8 bus to Airport;
Shuttle to Bloomington.</p>
<p>maxellis, that does sound long and unpleasant ugh. I already booked the Greyhound tickets, though. What bus do I take from the airport to downtown? How safe is downtown Indianapolis (I’m 5’2" and 100 pounds, i.e. helpless)?</p>
<p>bthomp1, ughh I wish I hadn’t booked Greyhound before posting here. Getting to Union Station is ideal, too. Do you think it would be worth it to book MegaBus since it’s so cheap and take it instead? I cannot be refunded for Greyhound, since I did it online. Myabe I’ll try contacting them anyway about it.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for the help!</p>
<p>If you could get the Indy-Chicago roundtrip for $2.50 and the scheduled times fit into your schedule, it would be worth it to do Megabus. It is non-stop and they also usually run on time, and great for catching a Metra train. Megabus gets used by a lot of college students-- Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Champaign, Ann Arbor, Columbus Ohio, etc. Theoretically, you can go from Indy to Minneapolis and back for ten dollars. My son and I went to Minneapolis two different summers for fifteen dollars each round-trip, and took in baseball games on a single trip in Chicago, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh for about twenty dollars each. Just check their schedule once a day and eventually your February dates will show up and you can make reservations.</p>
<p>jigglypuff, you’ll be fine in downtown Indianapolis. The Greyhound station is a bit south of the busiest downtown areas, but it’s safe for a city. You’ll be there during the daytime and shouldn’t have any problems. You may see a few homeless people around, but generally they leave people alone–certainly no worse than Chicago.</p>
<p>jigglypuff, for future trips, there are a couple of other options you can consider as well. However, I can second that Megabus is another great choice over Greyhound. D has used them a few times and always been satisfied.</p>
<p>Did you know that there is a rideboard in the Classified section of Onestart? Students can post that they have rides available or that they need rides. It can be worth checking out, especially if you decide to travel at the last minute.</p>
<p>Also, there are 2 bus companies that offer service directly from campus to the Chicago area. Depending on where you live in the Chicagoland area, it can be a convenient option. Both have dropoff locations at Oakbrook, Woodfield and Northbrook malls. However, they only travel on select weekends. Check out HoosierBus.com and Catcharide.com. You’ll need to click on their schedules to see what dates they have available. Hoosier Bus does have a trip scheduled for the weekend of Feb 12th. Roundtrip fare is $99 on both.</p>
<p>IF you can get a great price for Megabus, that seems to be your best option, even if you can’t get a refund from Greyhound. You’d be able to avoid all of the stops that way.</p>
<p>I tried the classified ads once, but didn’t get a response. I ended up flying in for the weekend. </p>
<p>I know about the buses that drop off at malls. I took them for Thanksgiving. I looked at them before buying the Greyhound tickets. I need to be home on 2/5 though. </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>