Backpack and pulling one suitcase isn’t so bad. But pulling two suitcases? Awkward. And if there are stairs or crowds to navigate…even more so.
Other main concern is whether the student is used to navigating public transit and how comfortable he feels with that option. I don’t think that has been answered.
I think it is at least a challenging situation, especially if you have to deal with stairs, escalators, crowds, or places where there is a significant risk of theft.
I’m about to go visit someone who lives in a slightly iffy neighborhood. I have chosen relatively expensive transportation options to make sure that I will never have to walk down the street in that area with luggage. It would be akin to putting a “rob me” sign on my back.
“Who would try to take a large backpack or additional luggage on board a bus where it was prohibited or who would expect someone else to do it?”
You obviously are not familiar with public transportation, lol. In HNL, so many clueless folks try to drag their luggage onto TheBus… yup, the driver points them in the direction they should be taking. Take the $20 shuttle with the undercarriage luggage storage!
I think it’s safe to assume, for the purposes of this thread, that we are smart enough and experienced enough not to send our offspring into a situation which is unnecessarily hazardous.
Same goes for expecting them to make a trip that is prohibited by policy or otherwise impossible.
I don’t see why it is safe to assume anything. You won’t say what city, school, and airport you are talking about. This seems like more of a stir-the-pot-thread than a thread posted by a dad who is thinking through how dropoff is going to work and feel for this kid.
I think we find it a hardship bc of the idea of stairs…that is hard to maneuver with stairs. Last year in London I nearly went headfirst down the stairs getting to the train to go to Paddington to get to heathrow. If I had had another suitcase I would not have been able to deal with the stairs.
So, let me get this straight. The OP assumes but does not state in the OP:
Sheesh. Why is this a thread then?
And the OP doesn’t answer questions, just asks them, or gives vague information. The questions have been answered. This has become someone’s mental game, so it seems.
To smoke out those of us who spoil our kids and turn them into entitled freeloaders, maybe?
To see how long the thread will ramble on?
I know this is off-topic, but I have to respond. I help low-income kids fill out FAFSA. I have had families tell me that the total amount of their assets, savings, checking accounts, etc., is less than $50 (the lowest so far is $27). Many students show me the 50 cents in their pockets and say that’s their total assets. So there are plenty of kids who don’t have $80 in their account, and some don’t have $6 either.
As for the original question – are we talking two huge roller bags (28 inches+), or a small roller and a duffel that can be thrown over the shoulder? If at all possible, I’d try to encourage the $6 route, because I think for most 18-year-olds, $74 should be money they carefully think about spending. It also sounds like one of the shuttles is provided by the university, so that leg should be easy.
I’d easily pay for the first trip shuttle. Especially if this is a college and a dorm in an area he is not very familiar with. It’s not just the ride, it’s the whole kit and caboodle of lugging the stuff. After the “getting to know” the place settles in …eh…lightrail… what ever assuming day time and not 120 degrees…
Can the non-shuttle be done? Sure, I once moved in Tokyo on a train but it wasn’t pretty (frankly, besides a dish drainer I probably had the same amount of stuff as JOD’s kid).
If he’s headed to ASU I’d be happy to give him a lift.
Why did OP even start this thread? I feel sorry for OP’s kids. And not because they may have to take a shuttle…
Public transport? Ha, young people nowadays are so coddled 
Perhaps the OP is from my generation. Why, we walked to school at 4 o’clock every morning, with no shoes on, uphill, both ways, in 5 feet of snow … and we were thankful !
But you try and tell the young people today that… and they won’t believe ya’.
Now get off my lawn.
Seriously??
I can’t count the number of times in undergrad where I literally did not have $5 in my account so I could buy lunch.
I’d love to live in the world of some of the people on CC. (And, to reiterate, I’m one of those who said the OP should spend the $80 and get the kid a shuttle. But this was clearly never a question so…)
A couple of years ago I traveled with my daughter to Paris and we had a small carry on each and a rolled suitcase each. We took the train/subway from the airport to our hotel. It was challenging going up and down several flights of steps where no alternative existed, my bag got caught in a turnstile (mentioned this earlier in the thread), and there was a partial train strike (so we almost didn’t get to the airport going home), I could not imagine either my daughter or I being able to do this if either of us had two suitcases in addition to our carry ons.
I am a savvy city traveler (have done trains to the airport in many cities) and I would not attempt it with the extra bag. Pay for the shuttle!
I am in Paris right now. With just one coworker, I lugged 9 (yes, 9) fully-loaded bags, 6 of which weighed 70 pounds, from ORD to CDG and then to our hotel. (That’s not including our personal carry-on bags.) I’m now in another hotel where I’m now down to 5 of those bags, 2 of which weigh 70 pounds. I’m traveling by train tomorrow to another European country. By the time I leave on Monday, I’ll be down to 1 70-pound and 1 50-pound suitcases. I’m quite used to carrying lots of luggage, thank you very much.
For our freshman move-in, my husband and I flew in with our daughter to move her in. For two of her subsequent years, I flew out and helped her move in. My daughter had a summer internship in NYC a year ago; I flew in to move her in and to move her out. My son’s moves were easier as his college was close by. But really, I wouldn’t have missed freshman move-in for the world. It was more than just a transport of luggage; it was a rite of passage. Look, if you can’t afford something, you can’t afford it. But this doesn’t appear to be a case of can’t afford.
Oh my! What on earth are you hauling all over Europe?
Materials for a workshop for a client. I just finished a 3-day workshop for about 40 people held in a hotel outside Paris. We bring books with our analysis that we have specially bound, large (6 foot tall) posters we’ve created, all kinds of playful manipulatives to brighten the room and unleash creativity (I know I sound very consultant-y), materials for exercises that the teams do, etc. Every little detail is planned to the nth degree and color-coordinated to help the meeting run smoothly. It’s like planning a wedding. We get rid of a lot of materials, but some of it is stuff we reuse so it goes back.
The 3 of us who led the workshop are going our separate ways - one is staying in Paris, one is going to Prague with 3 of the bags, I am going to Belgium. So that I don’t have to drag two suitcases (!) to Belgium on a train, I’m currently staying at a CDG hotel, checked those bags here, will leave for Belgium tomorrow with just a carry-on, then come back here Sunday night, sleep here and pick up the bags and depart Monday morning. It’s complicated - and then a week from Friday I leave to do it all again in Brazil, and then 2 weeks after that to London.
And yes, we’ve looked into shipping internationally, and it’s cost-prohibitive and we get caught up in customs. Our materials require specialty binding so I can’t use a Fedex/Kinko’s to print them, I have to do it in-house.
It’s a discussion thread on an interesting situation that came up.