Public Transportation or Cushy Shuttle Van?

Parent Cafe
1

I’m curious about what the parents of CC think about a Freshman male transferring from the airport to school. Student has a backpack and two suitcases. The two possibilities are;

  1. Shuttle van (which is essentially a taxi providing door-to-door service) Cost: $80

  2. A combination of two free shuttles and light rail. There is no walking except at the stations. Cost: $6

A third alternative might be to hook up with one or two other students to share the van ride (if you could find them) dropping the cost to either $27 or $40, depending on how many you pooled with.

What parameters would you set for your student?

Students are welcome to weigh in on the question, too.

2

With two suitcases, the public transportation sounds a little tough. Have you priced out Uber?

3

If the student is paying for it, then they choose.

If I was paying for it, then it would be the cheapest way.

My D’s school has a facebook page only for cab sharing from the airport to the school and school to airport. The students put when their flights are, when they need the cab, and where they are going to meet. Others respond and they work it out. Maybe your student could do that in order to share the shuttle?

4

I am not sure what you mean by parameters?

Is he traveling during the day or night? Is the light rail safe? How much longer does the $6 trip take than the $80 trip? How frequently is he making the trip?

Safety comes first in my mind. If the $6 trip takes 2 hours and the $80 trip takes 30 minutes, then I am more inclined to pay the shuttle. If he makes the trip twice a semester, more inclined to pay more than if he makes it weekly.

Is Uber a possibility?

5

Have you tried SuperShuttle? Your student doesn’t have to find the other van riders. We use the shared van service all the time for our D to and from the airport.

6

@intparent SuperShuttle is how the rates are figured.
@gettingschooled daytime travel, 1 hour vs 30 min
@wayneandgarth Some controversy over Uber.
@bajamm Yes, that would be one way to find riders.

7

I would consider your child’s ability to navigate transportation. Some kids (and adults) are able to easily get wherever they need to be even with multiple changes, etc.Other people tend to have a harder time navigating these things. Have you talked with your S about this? What is he comfortable with?

8

As long as it is safe, I don’t think 30 minutes of a college freshman’s time is worth $74. As long as the luggage is manageable.

9

Does the controversy over Uber apply to other services? My daughters use Lyft and SideCar.

10

What city is this? That would affect my choice.

11

My kid rode public transportation from Ohare to Northwestern for a summer program, with two suitcases and an instrument case. It was FAR less costly than any other form of transportation.

12

I am all about speed/time.

I could go from midtown to JFK via E train for 2.75, LI train for $15 or $80+ for a car service. During rush hour, I would take the LI train to avoid traffic, but on the return trip (usually on the weekend) I would take a car service.
D2 has the option of taking Cornell’s campus to campus bus (assigned seat, free drinks, wifi, clean bathroom) or take a public bus to NYC. Cornell’s bus is twice as expensive, but it doesn’t make stops, so I pay for the more expensive bus.

13

@TomSrOfBoston Probably one of the safer cities.
@rosered55 Same applies. Uber economy priced out at about $35.
@FallGirl JustOneMom and I thought back on our lives and decided that being in the discomfort zone didn’t hurt anything. And might even be good for you.

14

SuperShuttle has different options. You made it sound like you had picked the “ride by yourself” option. But maybe I misunderstood. The shared option does not not require you to find ride-sharers. It just means you have to put up with other people in the van, and it may make some stops to pick up or drop off people. We also used Uber for my daughter to go visit a friend at Stanford when she was at a conference in the Silicon Valley, but public transit was really complicated between the locations. It worked out for her, but I would rather use SuperShuttle for an airport run given the choice. If you do use Uber, Google to look for discounts for first time use, we got $20 off her ride.

15

This is a first year student going to college by himself at beginning of term? He is moving himself in?

If so, I’d pay the $80 shuttle fee, assuming I can afford it.

If he is returning to school after a visit home, it might be different.

This depends on what parents can afford, how savvy kids are, etc. There is no way to make it one size fits all. imho.

ETA: I don’t think unnecessary hardship is necessarily character building. My kids are grown, so I’m done with this phase.

16

First year, moving into college…traveling alone for the first time…I would pay for the shuttle.

Does the college have any shuttle service?

17

@thumper1 That’s one of the free shuttle legs.

18

I might spring for the shuttle for the first trip to let him more easily settle in to the travel routine. After that, I would make a more economical choice. Super shuttle shared ride is a very good option. If this is during a regular break period, there will probably be other kids from the school on the van.

19

My D was in a somewhat similar position in that getting from Logan to her suburban Boston campus was inexpensive but very lengthy on public transportation … quick but very expensive via private cab. There was a ride-sharing board on FB where girls would indicate they were going to / from Logan at X time so they could coordinate cabs / Ubers. Is there a similar FB board for your child’s college?

But I do agree with alh, I don’t see the point of “building character” in this kind of thing.

20

Time of day makes a big difference to me, too. And the safety of the areas in question.