Holiday Inn at University Center
To get to the hotel by bus, take the express bus 28X. Board at PGH INTERNL AIRPORT LOWER LEVEL (DOOR 6) . Get off at BELLEFIELD AVE & 5TH.
Bus Route
You may also reserve a Super Shuttle for commute between Airport and the Hotel. More information on Super Shuttle is available here.
Parking
You can use metered parking on Frew St. which is right next to the workshop venue (4933 Frew St.). On sunday parking is free while on other days you will require to feed coins to the meter every few hrs.
You may also use parking garages on campus, most convenient of which are East Campus Garage (Forbes Ave. & Beeler St.) and Gates Garage. Parking charges for the use of garage are $10 a day and no reservations are required. Just drive into the garage and pay in there.
Shuttle between the Hotel and the Workshop Venue: Hotel has a shuttle that runs every hr:15 and hr:45 and can accommodate up to 15 passengers at a time. To get to the morning breakfast in time you would prefer to take the shuttle leaving the hotel at 8:15 am and to get to the first session in time you should take 8:54 am shuttle. Ask your driver to drop you off at 4933 Frew St.
Points Of Interest in Pittsburgh
Visa Waiver Program
Effective January 12, 2009, VWP travelers must obtain a travel authorization via the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) prior to boarding a plane to the U.S. under the VWP. ESTA is an automated system that the traveler logs into online. It is used to determine the traveler's eligibility under the VWP. It requires the same information as the paper I-94W form that VWP travelers currently fill out en route to the U.S.
When you invite scholars to come on the Visa Waiver Program on or after January 12, 2009, be sure to have them apply for ESTA well in advance in order to avoid having trouble at the Port of Entry. Our WB instructions have been updated to include this information and the sample/template invitation letter has also been updated (see below). The ESTA application is free and may be submitted online at any time prior to travel (at least 72 hours prior to travel is recommended). Scholars may apply even if they don’t have definite travel plans now, but anticipate travel in the future. Once approved, an ESTA authorization generally will be valid for up to two years or until the applicant’s passport expires, whichever comes first, and will be valid for multiple entries into the U.S. Though not required, it is recommended that scholars print out the ESTA approval and carry it with their passport when they travel.
To apply for ESTA authorization, scholars will log onto: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/
Extensive questions and answers about ESTA may be found at
http://www.cbp.gov/linkhandler/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta/about_esta/esta_faq.ctt/esta_faq.pdf
After January 12, 2009, a VWP traveler with a valid ESTA authorization may or may not receive the paper Form I-94W (small green card usually stapled into passport) when arriving to the US. If the scholar arrives at CMU without the paper I-94W, proof of WB status will still be visible, as his/her passport will be rubber stamped with an entry stamp by the immigration inspector at the port of entry and notated "WB".
