Local Information

Transportation

City of Pittsburgh Buses (PRT)

Cost: $2.75 for a 3-hour pass, $7 for a day pass, $25 for a week pass.

How to buy tickets: Use the "ready2ride" or "Transit" apps to buy tickets and track buses. Scan your ticket as you get on (or pay the driver in cash). You can also use Google/Apple maps for routes and schedules.

28X (airport to CMU/Hilton Garden Inn): This is the route between the Pittsburgh Airport and downtown/recommended hotels/CMU campus. Buses come twice per hour, and it takes the bus 55 minutes between CMU and the airport, longer than the 30 minutes by car/Uber/Lyft/taxi. The bus costs $2.75 versus $40+ for Uber/Lyft/taxi, so the trade-off is up to you. You might coordinate rides from the airport with other conference attendees via discord.

61 (Hilton Garden Inn to CMU) (including 61A, 61B, 61C, 61D): Goes along Forbes Ave between downtown (61ABC only), conference hotels, CMU, and beyond. During the day, the frequency of 61 buses is high (every 5-10 minutes).

Parking

If you drive to campus, here are the visitor parking options. The two closest options to the conference venue are the Morewood Lot at 1048 Morewood Ave and the CIC garage at 594 Boundary St. The Morewood Lot is free on weekends.  You cannot park at these locations overnight.

The Forbes-Semple garage is a good overnight parking option near the Hilton Garden Inn. Parking can also be purchased at the hotel.

Amtrak: Pittsburgh Union Station (PGH) is near downtown and has rail connections to Chicago, DC, and Philadelphia.

Bike/e-bike:  "Pogoh" has bikes and e-bikes you can rent from stands around Pittsburgh. Pre-register online or get the PBSC app.

Restaurants

Near CMU, there is a good collection of restaurants on Craig St near Forbes Ave. This area is where we recommend going for lunch during the conference. Try to split up into multiple groups to not overwhelm these smaller restaurants.

There are many restaurants near the conference hotels on Forbes Ave (e.g. The Porch, Piada, Primanti Bros), West of CMU. 

There are also many restaurants along the 61 bus line further East of the conference (e.g. Ramen Bar, Aladdin's Eatery, Cafe 33). 

CMU On-campus dining options here.

Attractions

In the immediate vicinity of CMU:

Further from campus and nearer to downtown: