I’m not going to lie, when I realized I wouldn’t be able to bring my car (Lilo, I miss you everyday) to college, my inner 15 year old self—who was very well acquainted with asking for rides and walking—recoiled. There also might have been some mental tears.
The thought of being in a city 1,500 miles away from home and not having my beloved car made me panicky. I imaged the triple digit Uber bills, being stuck on campus while the fun was in Boston, and possibly feeling like there was no escape from school.
While those sentiments were present during my first month here at Babson, I managed to figure out some transportation hacks thanks to experience and my friends.
Zipcar
Zipcar is an app that allows you to rent cars for as little as 1 hour or as long as 7 days. There’s certain parking spots at Babson where Zipcars are located. You pay an annual $15 student membership and then pay the cost of the time you wish to have the car. Last time I went with my friends it was about $30 for four hours. Also, if you are going to the city keep in mind that parking can cost anywhere from $20-$30.
Fun fact: you can still use Zipcar even if you have an international license.
Uber (with friends)
Uber is an obvious option. It’s incredibly useful when you have to get somewhere quick and easy. Before coming to college, I didn’t know that you could split the bill with friends inside the app, a fact that blew my mind when I found out. Always try to find friends or other people going to the same place so you can split it. Don’t Uber to Boston because prices can range anywhere from $40 to $60 depending on the day.
Even though students at Babson don’t visit Wellesley much, the Uber ride there is only $10 (around $23 round trip) and there’s a bunch of great supermarkets, restaurants, and shops. Be careful with the time because a lot of place close by 5 pm.
Shuttle
I recently started using the Babson shuttle frequently. It is a free service offered to students that provides transportation Thursday-Sunday. The schedule for that can be found here. I’ve found that the best (and cheapest) way to get to the city is to take the shuttle to Cosplay, take the Green line train ($2.75) back all the way to Woodland station, and get picked up by the Babson shuttle.
There is also a Babson-Olin-Wellesley bus that takes you to the schools during the weekdays. If you go to Wellesley College you can easily walk to Washington Street where there are many restaurants to choose from.
Train
Like I said before, the train is an insanely cheap way to get around. One you understand the complex green, purple, pink, yellow, brown, line colors it’s relatively easy to use.
An alternative to the shuttle is taking a $10 Uber to Woodland station and taking the Government Center train all the way to Coplay to be downtown or waiting for the Boylston Street stop to be left right by the movie theater. On the way back (it’s kind of tricky) you take the outgoing Riverside “D” train (Green Line) and just wait until it stops at Woodland.
Lula
Lula is a peer-to-peer online platform that was founded by three Babson College students. It allows individuals without a car to rent a vehicle from those that do. Although I personally don’t have any experience with Lula, it seems cool and worth trying out.
Check out their website here.