I took a lot of buses last year, but you have to keep some things in mind:

• Most buses stop 3-4 blocks away from the Convention Center; there's a new "transit center" downtown where a lot of the buses stop, but it's 4 blocks east (and 1/2 block north) of the center
  
• It's $1.75 a trip, although you can buy passes either online or at the bus system's "store" downtown
  
• Very few buses run after 10 PM
  
• Buses don't run as much on weekends - in fact, a lot of routes don't run at all on Sunday
  
• Some routes take a long time (for example, if you have a hotel in Park 100, the route actually heads away from downtown at first, and takes something like an hour for a trip that would take 20 minutes if you took the shortest route)
  
• Not every hotel is near a bus stop - especially out near the airport (in fact, I based my hotel choice in part on how close it was to a bus stop that ran downtown)
  

I am very disappointed GenCon is not setting up a shuttle service. Downtown hotels are severly limited and parking around the convention center is very tough. Last years shuttle worked out very well for us.

I'm glad the shuttle service worked out well for you last year.  Unfortunately, the majority of feedback we received from attendees regarding that service was, not as complimentary as we would have hoped.

I can tell you that I personally use Uber a LOT when I come to town; it's cheap, fast, and generally very reliable.  I've even used it to go from the JW over to the Crowne, when I've been particularly tired and pressed for time.

When you leave your hotel in the morning you are very likely to see other gamers leaving as well; definitely talk to them about sharing a taxi or an Uber.  

Marian McBrine
Event Coordinator
Gen Con LLC