Different from last year? A question on travel too the Westin From the Airport and back again.

No, not this year. It only saved a dollar anyway.

I have used two forms of transport between the airport and my hotel - a taxi, and the 28X Flyer Shuttle.

Taxi - has the advantage of going when you want, where you want, right up to the door of whichever hotel you are using. The primary disadvantage is the cost - but the Taxi can take one passenger up front, and 2 or 3 in the back for a sedan, more for a mini-van - and you can split the cost among you. In most cities fares are ususally regulated by a transit or port authority, so all the taxi cabs should charge the same fee for the same route. A taxi fare of $30, split three ways, is quite reasonable, plus a tip for baggage handling and general courtesy of the driver. There is a bonus - whatever is going on in town of interest, or any local critical info that's fresh, the taxi driver will be able to fill you in on. Sometimes the recommendations of a local cab driver for places nearby to eat or sights or shows worth seeing are worth the fare on their own.

The "Flyer" - chief advantage is, there is no cheaper way to get to town, save by being picked up by a friend, or using your thumb (which is strongly discouraged). The Flyer runs most of the day, and I don't think I had to wait more than a half-hour, but there is a website run by the Pittsburgh Port Authority Lists PDF files of the current schedule, and various stops. The need to wait for the shuttle is a minor disadvange, and the fact that it is a small shuttle bus, capable of holding perhaps 20 to 25 people plus luggage, can be a pain on the outbound trip after the convention, for it might be near full when it gets to our stop. But the biggest disadvantage is, it doesn't stop at the hotels that we want. It does have one stop, outbound, which is two blocks from either the Westin or the Omni; on the inbound leg, from the airport, it's more like three blocks - but they are relatively short blocks, down Liberty Avenue, you can see the Westin down the street. If you have one suitcase/bag/grip, and maybe a briefcase as well, this should be no problem for someone under the age of 50 or weighing less than 245 lbs. I made this walk while carrying my suitcase, my briefcase, and a large, unweildy cardboard "Sarcophacus" for transporting art home in.

Personally, I would recommend sharing a taxi, especially if raining; then rely on the "Flyer". The other commercial shuttle options are unknown to me, but the fare is per person, unlike the cab, so it will likely cost more than the shared taxi option - and you still have to travel when they have enough people to fill the thing, usually.