Alright, so the other day I needed to get from Madison to Chicago. I don’t have a car, so I started looking into bus tickets.

Figuring out the bus situation
First, I checked out those campus buses in Madison. Turns out, routes 80, 81, 82, and 84 are free for students and university folks, which is pretty sweet. They run all the time, even late at night and on weekends. But those just stay around the campus area, and I needed to get all the way to Chicago.
Checking out the options
So, I started searching online for buses from Madison to Chicago. A bunch of different websites popped up. It looks like there are a few companies that do this route. One that caught my eye was FlixBus. Apparently, it’s a pretty cheap and easy way to get between the two cities. They said the trip is about 253 kilometers and takes around 3 hours, give or take.
I also found some other sites that let you compare prices from different bus companies. One of them was talking about OurBus Inc. It looks like they have daily buses going to Chicago from Madison too.
Finding the best deal
I’m all about saving a few bucks, so I dug around a bit more. Some sites were saying you can find tickets for as low as $15! That’s a steal. But you know, prices can change depending on when you book and all that jazz.
Making a decision
After looking at all the options, I decided to go with FlixBus. They seemed like the most straightforward and affordable choice. Plus, 3 hours on a bus isn’t too bad. I can just kick back, listen to some music, or maybe even catch up on some reading.

Booking the ticket
So, I went to the FlixBus website and booked my ticket. It was pretty easy. Just had to pick my dates and times, put in my info, and pay online. Got a confirmation email right away, and I was all set.
And that’s the story of how I got my bus ticket from Madison to Chicago. Now I am in Chicago!
- It was quite an adventure.
- I found a cheap bus.
- I booked the bus ticket.
Not too bad, right?