TRAVELING FROM CHICAGO O’HARE AIRPORT TO EIU

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Please note that taxi cab fare from Chicago O’Hare Airport directly to Eastern Illinois University is approximately a 3½ hour drive and will cost anywhere between $800-$1000. To avoid paying this fee, please see below.  

If you are arriving at Eastern on your own, follow these 3 steps to travel from Chicago O’Hare Airport to EIU. Be sure to plan ahead and pay attention to the timing of your travels.

 (The Peoria Charter bus will pick travelers up from O’Hare’s International Terminal 5. It will take students all the way to Champaign, Illinois’ train station, called Illinois Terminal. Students will depart the bus at the train station, go inside the building, and take the next train to Mattoon, Illinois, where they will get a taxi from Coles County Transportation. Mattoon is about a 15 minute taxi ride from EIU.)

 1. Take a Peoria Charter bus from O’Hare’s International Terminal 5 to Champaign, Illinois    

 From https://peoriacharter.com, choose the following options: One Way / From / Chicago Airports – O’Hare Int Terminal 5 Arrivals / To / Urbana/Champaign – Illinois Terminal (train station) /  Depart Date (departing from the airport) / Find Tickets  

2. Take the Amtrak train from Champaign, Illinois to Mattoon, Illinois      

From https://www.amtrak.com, choose the following options: One-Way / From /  Champaign-Urbana, IL (CHM) / To / Mattoon, IL (MAT) / Depart Date / Traveler 1 / Find Trains

 3. Take a Taxi from Mattoon, Illinois to Eastern Illinois University from Coles County Transportation

 https://www.colescountytrans.com

CCT will take you directly to your residence hall or off-campus housing. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Their local phone number is 217-345-7433.  

Call them when Amtrak leaves Champaign, and they will likely be at the Mattoon station when you arrive.

 If you need temporary housing during student orientation, please complete the arrival information form by logging into https://www.eiu.edu/myeiu/ and go to the “Arrival Information Form” on the checklist.