Did you pay $40 for an Uber (ew, Uber) from New Haven to get back to Wes from break? If you did and found yourself wishing for a cheaper alternative, read past the jump for a full guide on how to get from Wes to New Haven for just $9.75. Here’s the tl;dr:
- Go to Meriden using M-Link Bus from Wesleyan Campus (William and High) 30 minutes and $1.75.
- Take Amtrak from Meriden Station to New Haven 30 minutes and $8. NOTE: Buy tickets beforehand, construction disrupting train schedule until May 2017.
- Starting January 2018 new commuter line will connect Meriden and New Haven with high speed trains making this an even better travel hack for Wesleyan students :)
Unable to find people to split an Uber with to New Haven? Or is it not one of the days that Wesleyan Transportation has a shuttle? Well fortunately, there’s another way. It’s a little known fact that there is a bus service run by the City of Middletown called M-Link that connects Wesleyan University and Meriden Station. The WSA in 2010 was proud of itself for getting the bus to stop on campus, but like some things the WSA does it has been quickly forgotten. The bus takes 30 minutes and only costs $1.75.
Don’t worry first years, you’re not alone in not knowing this exists. Thanks to Middletown transit’s slow progress in adding their bus service timetable to Google maps only those that specifically look for the Middletown area bus routes know about it. When I emailed Middletown Area transit in September 2015 about the issue they were quick to say that it was hard, but that they were working on it supposedly. Below is their response from over two years ago:
Thank you for your interest in our system. Your idea is one we have been working on for a while. Unfortunately it is not as simple as you proposed. Google requires GIS programming which involves satellite coordination. One of our planning agencies in the State of Ct. is currently working on that. That will result in live-time information. Hopefully we will create an AP strictly for Middletown
Transit.Andrew Chiaravallo, Administrator
Middletown Area Transit MAT
P: 860 346-0212
In any case, I’ve included the timetable below since it’s still not on Google Maps, but I’d still check the M-Link website for the most updated version.
Before you get to Meriden station you should buy a ticket online or on the app for one of the Amtrak Shuttles going towards New Haven, which takes about 30 minutes and cost $8.00. Unfortunately, for the next year, construction on a new multi-million dollar commuter rail line between Springfield, Hartford, Meriden, and New Haven may cancel some of the trains. Cancelled trains would be replaced with buses. The buses take an hour instead of 30 minutes, so you might want to spend a bit more effort looking for people to split a ride when the bus replacements are running.
For those that’ll still be at Wesleyan in 2018 you guys are lucky. The new commuter rail line looks sick, with new stations already completed and eventually new trains making New Haven, Boston, Hartford, and New York much more accessible to students. They’re trying to upgrade the line all the way to Montreal Canada, but I wouldn’t hold my breath for that.
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Good information i find in here but i think this is not so easy to go new haven. For better travel the bus journey always interesting. I like it and try to do it.
This is really helpful but you can also travel from Meriden to New Haven via bus (at the Meriden station where the wes > Meriden bus stops). And since the line starts at Meriden, you can usually ride that bus for free!
Way cheaper than 9.75!