This year, Thanksgiving recess will take place November 21-25. While this is an exciting time to spend with friends and family, we understand that dealing with traffic on the trip home can detract from your student’s excitement. Mason Transportation outlines a number of affordable options below to help your student make the trip.
Buses from Mason to Regional Cities
Mason offers affordable transportation to regional cities for the Thanksgiving holiday. Destinations include Christiansburg, Hampton, Norfolk, Virginia Beach , and Richmond in Virginia, as well as Philadelphia and New York. Buses and shuttles will leave on Tuesday, November 20 and Wednesday, November 21 to regional cities and return on Sunday, November 25. For a complete list of destinations, departure times, and pickup locations, please visit shuttle.gmu.edu in mid- to late October and look for the link titled 2018 Thanksgiving Regional Transportation Schedule.
Ridesharing with Zimride
Ridesharing is a great and affordable way to travel home for breaks. Zimride is the university’s free rideshare network for students, staff and faculty. Your student can sign up with their Mason NetID to find others in the area with whom to carpool and save money on gas.
Burke Centre VRE and AMTRAK
Mason’s Burke Centre VRE shuttle travels from the Fairfax campus to the Burke train station, and students can take a connecting AMTRAK or VRE train from there. Burke is on the VRE Manassas line.
Area Airports
Area airports are accessible via public transportation, Super Shuttle, Uber/Lyft, or Taxi. For details on public transportation access, please visit our Airport Transportation page.
Union Station (DC)
Union Station is a hub for Amtrak and some regional bus services. It is available via Metro; students can take the Mason Shuttle or CUE Bus to Vienna (orange line), transfer at Metro Center to get on the red line and get off at Union Station. For information on ground transportation from Union Station, please visit Union Station Ground Transportation.
For more information about Thanksgiving transportation, please visit shuttle.gmu.edu or call (703) 993-2828. You can also connect with Mason Parking and Transportation via social media.
Janet Walker
Programs Manager
Transportation and Parking Services