I always felt a little bit left out when my friends talked about driving home or going out to eat my freshman year. For some reason, I thought that I wouldn’t have as good of a time in college because I didn’t have a car. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case. Here are my tips on how to thrive in college without a car.
Live on (or close to) campus
This is kind of an obvious solution. If you live on campus, your whole life is on campus. You don’t have to leave to get food, go to work, or go home. If you don’t want to live on campus, there are hundreds of housing options within walking distance. I’ve noticed on my morning walks that Ball State and the surrounding neighborhoods are pretty well lit and the more light, the better. Whether you choose to live on campus or just outside of it, being within walking distance of your daily activities is a must.
Work close to home
I would recommend working on campus to anyone, regardless of whether or not they have a car. I leave my house, go to work and class, then go back home. I don’t have to worry about catching a bus across Muncie, frantically changing my clothes in a bathroom, finding my way back home after dark, or trying to schedule around my classes and final exams. Working on campus also means that your employer understands that you’re a student before you’re an employee. There’s just about no way to lose.
Create a transportation network
This is another obvious solution, but one worth mentioning. Become friends with people who have cars. More often than not, your friends will be willing to carpool. If you need a ride to a club meeting, the doctor’s office, or the grocery store, reach out to your friends. It’s a lot more cost effective than using a rideshare app every time you need to go somewhere.
Invest in a bicycle… and a good pair of walking shoes
If you pay attention, there are bike racks everywhere at Ball State. Investing in a hybrid or cruiser bicycle (as well as a quality U-lock and bicycle helmet) is definitely not a bad idea. You’ll be able to zoom past pedestrians during the week on your way to class and could even coast through Minnetrista on the weekends for fun.
A good pair of walking shoes (I’d recommend Brooks or On Clouds) is never a bad idea. Ball State is pretty compact, which makes it extremely walkable. It takes me 20 minutes maximum to walk from the Student Center to North Dining and I have a small stride.
Familiarize yourself with public transportation
Muncie has a pretty solid public transportation system. The MITS buses stop on campus and can take you to Walmart, downtown, Minnetrista, and even Ball Memorial Hospital. You can download the MITS app on Google Play or the App Store to track the buses. Not only are the buses trackable through the MITS app, they are free to use with your Ball State ID. It’s a handy way to get around Muncie without spending a single penny.
Another awesome perk to being a Ball State student is the campus bus service. There are four regular routes: the red, orange, green, and blue loops. The red loop runs up and down McKinley, the orange and green loops can take you out by Scheumann Stadium, and the blue loop makes a circle on McKinley, Riverside, Linden, and Neely. Check out the bus services at https://www.bsu.edu/about/administrativeoffices/transportation/bus-shuttle-services/shuttle-buses or look at the real time schedule at https://bsu.transloc.com/ .
Look on the bright side
For every gray cloud, there is a silver lining. You may not have a car, but at least you don’t have to worry about parking spaces, tickets, getting gas, or paying car insurance. Not only does it save you money, you also cut down on carbon emissions and up your daily physical activity. With most, if not all, of your daily activities being within a walkable community and a free public transportation system for almost everything else, who needs a car anyways?