Buy our guides
Read our blog
Login Register

Northwestern University
- Transportation

RT
Currently attending or alumni?
Review this school!
Are you interested
in this school?
Yes, let this school know
Maybe, bookmark for later
No, get better matches
Saving your decision
Yes
Maybe
No

Your information has been sent to this school through our partnership with .

This school has been saved to your schools list.

This school has been removed from your recommended schools list.

For your next recommendation, check out .

Jump to a section:

Grade
Quick Stats
Student Author Overview
Student Reviews
Student Polls
Facts
Listings
Take A SurveyWrite A ReviewUpload A PhotoLink Up A VideoWrite The Guide
Northwestern University - Transportation - College ProwlerCollege Prowler4.24

Transportation

A-
Where does this grade come from?View all Transportation rankingsReview this school to add your opinion

Comparable Schools' Transportation Grades:

Quick Stats

Best Ways to Get Around Town
  • Walk
  • Campus shuttle
  • SafeRide
Best Ways to Get to the Airport A cab ride to the airport costs $25 to $40, depending on the taxi company and airport destination.

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

Even though parking is Northwestern's downfall, it more than makes up for it with the transportation options. Campus shuttles run pretty much all day, with stops all around campus, the city of Evanston, and Ryan Field. The Intercampus Shuttle provides students with a free ride into the heart of downtown Chicago, where Northwestern's Chicago campus is located. Besides school-provided transportation, there's also the Chicago public transportation system, and the El and Metra provide cheap transportation into Chicago and around the suburbs.

At night, there's SafeRide, a University-provided car service that students can call to get transportation on and around campus. Unfortunately, wait times can sometimes get pretty long, and the system sometimes shuts down, especially in poor weather. However, Campus Loop shuttles also run at night until early in the morning and make stops at various points around campus.

See how you stack up against students who were accepted to this school . . .And calculate your chances!Register to get started

Northwestern University Student ReviewsWhat's This?

Sort by:

Loading...

Transportation at Northwestern University

bearclaw9393

'15

Mathematics & Statistics

3.5
B

What You Expect

Buses are free, but they are usually running late so they are better used for going to meet with friends than for class. The El is really close and pretty cheap so going to Chicago is really no hassle.

Jan 30, 2012

Comment actions: Rate
Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Transportation at Northwestern University

moreforthat

'15

English

4.6
A

Public Transit

Shuttles, buses, the CTA, Metra, taxis. You can pretty much get anywhere with public transit once you figure it out how it works.

Jan 23, 2012

Comment actions: Rate
Report as inappropriate/inaccurate

Transportation at Northwestern University

vszuflita

'15

Cognitive Science

4.6
A

Good Transportation

The school is located right near the "L" and there are free shuttles for students that go to down town Chicago.

Nov 16, 2011

Comment actions: Rate
Report as inappropriate/inaccurate
Page 1 of 10

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?

Facts

Did You Know?

Check SafeRide wait times on Twitter: @SafeRideWait

In addition to the shuttle that run throughout and between the campuses, NU also offers the following shuttles:

Athletic Events Shuttle – Provides transportation to all home football and men's basketball games.
Chicago Express Shuttle – Runs from Evanston to four downtown Chicago locations on select Saturdays.
Ryan Field Shuttle – Runs between the main campus, Central/Green Bay Metra Station, Ryan Field parking lot, and Research Park.
Shop-N-Ride Shuttle – Runs to Target, Best Buy, OfficeMax, Jewel, and Lincolnwood Towne on select Sundays.

Safety Escort ServicesWhat's This?

SafeRIde
(847) 491-7000
Daily 7 p.m.–3 a.m.

Campus ShuttleWhat's This?

Intercampus Shuttle

This free shuttle runs between the Evanston and Chicago campuses.

(847) 467-5284

Monday–Friday 6:40 a.m.–11 p.m.

Frostbite Express Shuttle

This shuttle runs throughout campus during the day when temperatures are in the single digits or there is a wind-chill factor below zero.

Evanston and Campus Loop Shuttles

These free shuttles run throughout the Evanston campus, as well as between campus and downtown Evanston.

Daily 6 p.m.–3 a.m.

Public TransitWhat's This?

Chicago Transit Authority

(312) 836-7000

www.transitchicago.com

Nearest AirportWhat's This?

O’Hare International Airport

O'Hare is approximately 18 miles from the Evanston campus.

10000 W. O’Hare, Chicago

(773) 894-2940

www.ohare.com/About/OHare

Midway International Airport

Midway is approximately 25 miles from the Evanston campus.

5700 S. Cicero Ave., Chicago

(800) 832-6352

www.ohare.com/About/Midway

Nearest Passenger BusWhat's This?

Skokie Greyhound Station

The station is approximately 6 miles from campus.

5005 Depmster St., Skokie

(847) 675-9210

www.greyhound.com

Chicago Greyhound Station

The station is approximately 16 miles from the Evanston campus.

630 W. Harrison St., Chicago

(312) 408-5800

www.greyhound.com

Nearest Passenger TrainWhat's This?

Glenview Amtrak Station

The station is 7 miles from the Evanston campus.

1116 Depot St., Glenview

(800) 872-7245

www.amtrak.com

Chicago Union Station

The station is approximately 20 miles from the Evanston campus.

225 S. Canal St., Chicago

(800) 872-7245

www.amtrak.com

Buy The Guidebook

Buy a hard copy of "Northwestern University 2012: Off The Record"

Read more about the book . . .Add to Cart

Buy the eBook:

AmazonBarnes & NobleGoogleSmashwordsDownload the FREE Printable Summary (PDF)

Most Recent Student Author

College Prowler guides are in the hands of students throughout the entire process. Because you can't make student-written guides without the students, we have students at each campus who write, edit, and survey their peers for every guide that we publish. Thanks to our most recent student author at NU

Name: Kevin Echavarria

Hometown: San Antonio, Texas

Major: Journalism/Comparative Literary Studies

see all student author bios > Become a student author to help update the guide for this school

Find a college

Find a major

Scholarships

Reviews

Company

Buy College Prowler school guides in our bookstore Get the real scoop on what it's like on campus and see what school is the place for you!

How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. Please note that the information presented on this site is updated periodically, but may not be the
most recent information available for a particular school. For additional information we encourage you to visit school websites or contact the schools directly.