Travel Expenses Could Be Lower For Those Who Fly to School

[Schmoomcgoo]

Fly, Don't Drive to College - MSN Encarta

[Booklady]

While he makes some good points towards the end of the article, I have to wonder: how many students drive 20 miles a day once they're at college? And a four hour plane ride is really more like a 6-7 hour slot of time: you have to get to the airport and be there well before your flight leaves.

If your college student goes to school an afternoon’s drive away from your home, you’re pretty likely to provide the car.

Many students take a train or bus to get back and forth, where that's possible. And at a lot of schools, freshmen aren't even allowed to have cars.

Thus endeth my quibbling.

[NewHope33]

Well here's the problem. Where there's lots of travel between two locations, there are usually several modes of transportation. Live in Philadelphia and go to school in Boston? No problem taking public transportation -- air, rail, bus, (limosine?). But live in Asheville NC and go to school in Charleston SC? It's 240 miles and four hours by car. But Travelocity quotes $449 and eight hours by plane, and there's no Amtrak service at all.

[Full disclosure: I have two D's in college, one gets to school by air and the other by rail.]

[Northstarmom]

The article's premise only would be true of parents give cars to students going to college a few hours a way. If one doesn't do that, it's still far cheaper to to go to school within a few hours drive instead of flying across country to school. I honestly don't understand why people now think that students must have cars in college. Even if schools are a few hours drive away from home, and there isn't bus or rail transportation, students often can get rides home with other students.

[Schmoomcgoo]

I don't understand the need for a car in college either, NSM. MANY kids in my area have cars and come home every weekend. Their parents complain if they don't!

I'm sure they don't understand why we would send our daughter cross country either.

[csleslie51]

"I honestly don't understand why people now think that students must have cars in college. Even if schools are a few hours drive away from home, and there isn't bus or rail transportation, students often can get rides home with other students."

Well, someone has to bring a car then, right?

[Northstarmom]

Sure, it's not hard to find rides with students whose parents gave them cars. That doesn't mean that one's kid needs a car to go to school. This even was true 40 years ago when I went to college and not those many students had cars. If I wanted to carpool, I could find a carpool even to my small hometown in Upstate NY.

[notre dame AL]

No car for our son at college more than 11 hours away. First of all, the parking issues are enough to keep it in the garage at home. Second, we do not relish in the thought that everyone wants to "borrow" the car. I am not inclined to provide transportation for other students at my expense and liability. Third, he is fortunate to attend college at a campus that is pretty much self-contained and coupled with his workload he just does not have the time to leave campus. We are saving that car money for graduation when he will most likely truly need a car.
PS-and about riding with others in their cars~he rarely leaves campus and when he does, it's cab time! So, we don't depend on other students, either.

[thumper1]

My DS and DD did (do) not have cars as undergrads. Both are going to school in urban areas, one with outstanding public transportation and one with adequate public transportation. The outstanding transport was only 2 hours or so from here. That kids never had a car...didn't need one. The adequate transport is across the country...and that kid doesn't have a car either. They both survived. DS, a grad student does have a car, but he is in an area where there is not great public transportation and he needs a car to get to school, jobs, and almost everything else. However, his apartment is VERY conveniently located to the things he needs. He drives less than 10 miles a day. AND we fly him home for holidays because the ticket is $280 and the gas and tolls would be the same. The cross country kid only comes here twice a year...Christmas and summer...that's it. No car and less travel costs...and she knew that when she applied.

[anxiousmom]

We use the car to drive DS to school, then bring car home. No cars for either of my kids. I've paid a grand total of about $600 in insurance fees for them, and next to nothing in gas since they became driver-eligible teens. (DD delayed getting license until in college; only insurance I paid was for DS between when he got his unrestricted license in December of HS senior year and when he went off to college the following August. Both kids are covered under our insurance at no charge since they attend colleges more than 150 miles from home and do not have vehicles with them.) Using the OP's article figures of approx $6000 a year to have/maintain kid's vehicle, we have saved $36,000 by not having a vehicle for them over the last 6 years.(to share! even more if they both had a car!)

[Schmoomcgoo]

AnxiousMom, I like that math! I didn't know my daughter could be insured on the basis of her being at school 150+ miles from home! Great news!

[anxiousmom]

It may not be all states and all insurance companies; we have Geico in Texas. The kids are listed on the policy and insurance cards and covered during summers, holidays and all year round.

[csleslie51]

Both our kids have (had) cars at college. Neither lent them to anyone. S attended very rural school and loved backpacking so car was used heavily on weekends/holidays and came in incredibly handy when he got his summer job a 10 hour drive from school (equally rural with NO public transportation of any kind available). The expenses have been minimal, even with S insuring his car under his own policy since he was 19. I did not have a car while in college but do not view my kids having one as a bad idea for where they went. PS We did not GIVE them their cars, they found $2000 wonders and paid for them with their own money.

[bluebayou]

nsm is correct. The WHOLE premise of this article depends on parents giving kids a car. Of course, the author provides absolutely zero data to support his assumption. Heck, if a kid is attending a local college (<20 miles away), the kids might just as easily use the family car to commute.

[mathmom]

Mathson still only has a learner's permit. He never he wanted to practice this summer, much less actually get his license. I'd love it if he could take the train to Pittsburgh, but there is no direct route from NY, you have to change trains in DC. There are buses, but so far we drive him there and back. He takes the plane for the short vacations.