By Air:
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport (YOW) is serviced by most major American carriers including Delta, United, and American Airlines as well major Canadian carriers Air Canada, Air Transat, and WestJet. For those returning to the US, it does have a US border pre-clearance facility. As with other international airports, it is recommended that you arrive at least 2 hours before your departure time to get through security. https://yow.ca/en
At the airport you have the option of:
- using taxi services (Capital or Blue Line, see below) or ride-share services like Uber or Lyft.
- Alternatively, you can rent a car from the airport.
- Lastly, you can take OCTranspo, the city’s public transportation. Buses leave on a regular basis (schedule varies depending on time and day) and single-use tickets or multi-use day passes can be purchased at a kiosk on the main floor near the entrance/exit.
By Land:
The University of Ottawa is located near the heart of the city. Coming from the west along Highway 417, you can take Exit 118 (Nicholas St/Lees Ave) and, staying on the left lane, follow the street north over the highway and past the university (which will be visible on the right). Turning right on Laurier will put you at the north end of campus.
Note: For those parking at Lees campus (see parking information below), you leave the highway at Exit 118 but now stay right, turning towards Lees Ave. At the stop sign, you turn left onto Lees Ave and drive 3-400 metres until you see the entrance to Lees campus at uOttawa on the right.
Travelling from the east of the city, take Exit 118 (Nicholas St/Mann Ave) and take either exit. Exiting off Mann Ave will bring you to the south end of campus (you will be on King Edward St) while continuing north along Nicholas St will bring you to the north end of campus.
Bike/Car Parking on or around Campus
Let us be frank – this is a downtown campus with not much car parking. Here is what the University of Ottawa offers in terms of parking:
- Parking at uOttawa
- Daily Parking Rates
- Main campus parking lots
- Lees campus ($22 per day with parking pass)*
*Note (March 5, 2019): These passes are available for pre-purchase on the conference registration website, but, due to delays in light rail certification, patrons of this parking lot may have to walk 15-20 minutes to get to campus instead of taking a 1 minute train ride. We will keep you posted in case safety checks are completed and city is able to OK the light rail system.
Here is what the City of Ottawa offers in terms of parking:
- City Hall Underground Garage (best option: 12-minute walk to campus with overnight parking)
- On-street parking using Pay-and-Display machine (1 to 3 hour limits during the day)
Getting around Ottawa
Taxis and ride-share services such as Uber and Lyft operate around the city. Taxis more so than ride-share operate 24/7. Blue Line and Capital Taxi are the two largest taxi services.
- Blue Line: (613) 238-1111
- Capital Taxi: (613) 744-3333
OCTranspo is Ottawa’s public transportation system. We recommend that you visit their website (http://www.octranspo.com/) to see payment options, bus schedules, bus stops, etc. The campus pharmacy and university centre convenience store (Pivik) sell tickets. For added versatility, you can purchase multi-day passes that allow unlimited use of OCTranspo.
Vrtucar is Ottawa’s best-known car-sharing service (https://www.vrtucar.com/) with pick-up and drop-off points near campus.
Bike-sharing options abound around the city but the University of Ottawa recommends Velogo. You can use your smartphone to register and unlock these bikes using https://gohopr.com/velogo/. That being said, you can also go to a bike shop and rent bikes.
Getting Around Campus
There is no on-campus shuttle service during the time of the conference. That said, the main campus is about 1 km or 0.6 miles in length and takes about 15 minutes to walk from end-to-end (with one or two streetlights at maximum). If accessibility/mobility is an issue, we recommend that you secure a room on-campus at the main residence (90U). If spots are no longer available and you are a person with a physical disability, please contact the conference organizers and we will attempt to find a solution. All buildings for the conference are wheelchair-accessible with ramps and elevators.