Arrival Information

Arrival Information for Dormitory Residents

The best time to check into your dormitory room is Tuesday evening, the day before the start of your ELI session. ELI students stay in Bodine Hall, at 80 University Avenue. If you have reserved a room on your ELI application form and have informed us of your arrival time, the Residential Life department will have reserved a room for you. The ELI Liaison will be expecting you. If you have any difficulty finding your way to Bodine Hall when you arrive, you may call the Campus Security Office at 203-576-4911 (open 24 hours a day)

On Wednesday morning, come to the ELI office at 9:00 a.m. From Bodine, walk down University Avenue until you come to Carlson Hall (located on the pedestrian mall between Park Avenue and Myrtle Avenue). Go up to the second floor, where you will find the staff of ELI.

Arrival Information for Off-Campus Students

Students staying in off-campus housing can arrive at ELI at 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday morning. You do not have to check in with ELI beforehand but can come directly to the office. Driving directions and a campus map will be mailed with your acceptance letter. Cars can be parked on Park Avenue or in the parking lot next to Mandeville Hall (enter the parking lot from Park Avenue). You can take the No. 1 Bridgeport city bus  to the University of Bridgeport. Get off the bus at the intersection of Park Avenue and University Avenue. Go to Carlson Hall, on the pedestrian mall in the center of campus adjacent to Park Avenue at University Avenue. Go up to second floor, where you will find the staff of ELI.

Transportation from the airport to the University of Bridgeport

On-Campus Students

ELI recommends that students arrive at JFK (John F. Kennedy) or LaGuardia International Airport, both in New York City. Students may also arrive at the farther away Newardk International Airport in New Jersey. Please plan to arrive on Tuesday, the day before the start of the session.

Do not take a taxi directly from the airport to Bridgeport. It is very expensive!

Prime Time Shuttle of Connecticut (GO Airport Shuttle)

Unless you have made arrangements to be picked up from JFK or LaGuardia airport, ELI recommends that you take Prime Time Shuttle (also known as GO Airport Shuttle) to the University of Bridgeport. To reserve a seat, you can go to their website and use a credit card. www.2theairport.com. If you have not reserved a seat before you arrive, you should be able to take Prime Time Shuttle anyway. Follow the procedure described below.

Once you have arrived at the airport, claimed your baggage, and gone through Customs and Immigration, go to the Ground Transportation Counter located just outside the baggage claim area. Call Prime Time/GO Airport Shuttle on the Courtesy Phone to let them know you have arrived, or tell someone at the Ground Transportation Counter that you want to take the shuttle to the University of Bridgeport. They will tell you where to wait and, in a few minutes, the driver will pick you up and take you to your address in Bridgeport. The ride to the University of Bridgeport takes about 1 hour. The last van leaves the airports at 10:00 p.m.

The cost for the trip to the University of Bridgeport is about $60. You should give the driver a tip of about $5. if the driver is helpful to you. Red Vans will take you directly to your campus address. Tell the driver you want to go to your residence hall (Bodine Hall) and say you are a new ELI student. Someone will help you.

Connecticut Limo

You can also go to the Ground Transportation Counter just outside the baggage claim area and ask for Connecticut Limo to Bridgeport, Connecticut. You will be put on the next limousine headed to Bridgeport. The Connecticut Limo does not take you to your campus address but arrives at the Bridgeport Terminal. The trip from the airport takes about 1 hour. The price is about $65 per person, and the van leaves frequently throughout the day, until midnight.

Once you arrive at Bridgeport Terminal, you should ask for a taxi to the University of Bridgeport. The cost of a taxi to campus from the Bridgeport Terminal is about $6. Tell the driver you want to go to Barnum Hall, 150 Marina Park Street. In the unlikely event that your flight is delayed past the last departure of these pick-up services, you should stay in an airport hotel overnight and come to Bridgeport the following morning. The airline may pay for the hotel in case of late arrival. Do not take a taxi directly from the airport to Bridgeport. It is much more expensive!

updated May 9, 2008