At three in the morning on Saturday, Jared Blake ’10 was hungry. Summerfields was closed. All he wanted was a burger. But with no vendors in sight, and no car at his disposal, he had to settle for some stale popcorn that he found under his bed.
“It’s really hard to get around Middletown without a car,” Blake explained. “I find it really necessary, especially when you have those late night munchies or when you miss brunch and want breakfast food. Having a car makes things so much easier.”
Getting around campus is easy enough; students can walk almost anywhere and the RIDE rarely takes more than five to ten minutes to make a pick up. But sometimes students do need to get out, and for those of them that don’t have cars, this can prove more than a little challenging.
“Cars make it easier for me to get where I want to go,” Woody Redpath ’10 said.
However, many people either do not have the option of bringing a car or doing so would be extremely difficult. According to the admissions website, seven percent of the class of 2010 are international students, eight percent are from the Midwest, five percent are from the South, and 16 percent are from the West. Bringing a car from this far would be time consuming and expensive. In addition, many students are from major metropolitan areas such as New York City, Boston, or the surrounding areas, meaning they are less likely to have cars to bring to campus.
Connecticut does have some mass transit services that provide an alternative to borrowing cars.
Peter Pan bus services have buses to New Haven two times a day, for $24 each way. A round trip to New York costs $75 from Middletown. Last year, however, the company reduced its service to only run on Fridays and Sundays. They also run a bus to Boston for $40 round trip, which again only runs on Fridays and Sundays.
Most students find these times limiting and frustrating.
“Taking the bus into New Haven or to New York is a hassle,” said Simone Jennings ’10. “They never come on time and it take hours to get anywhere. Plus, taking the trip alone at night is an issue, and it is really expensive to get anywhere…[they] cost so much money.”
Several end up taking cabs, but students generally try to avoid doing so because they are so expensive.
“The taxis are ridiculous,” Jennings added. “No one can afford to pay over 60 dollars every time they need a ride to the airport or to New Haven.”
Another option is taking the Connecticut Transit buses. These buses are very inexpensive, $1.25 per ride, and run every half an hour. However, there is no direct route to New Haven and getting there requires several confusing transfers.
“I would love to figure out the Connecticut Transit buses because they’re so cheap, but I looked on the website and I have honestly no idea how to figure the routes out,” said Sonia Davis ’10.
While the University does provide a shuttle to the airport for longer vacations, which it established because bus service from Middletown was eliminated during the week, most students find this service to be lacking. The service is almost as expensive as taking a taxi. The shuttle to New Haven costs $45, whereas a cab usually costs around $50, according to Metro Taxi. A ride to Bradley International Airport costs $55, around the same price as a cab does. Getting to Meriden, which is slightly closer and runs a train to New Haven, costs $25, one dollar more than most cab companies.
“I have a few friends with cars and they are constantly shuttling people back and forth from New Haven or Hartford to school because no one wants to pay for the expensive school shuttle that runs at really inconvenient times,” complained Caitlin McHugh ’10. “I had a flight to Nashville that left at 6:30 so to make sure I was at the Hartford airport in time, I had to take the 12:15 shuttle and sit in the airport for like five hours.”
Those who do have cars, of course, have their own complaints. While registering a car for the year costs $50, it does not guarantee a parking spot. Campus parking lots often fill up, like those next to Hi-Rise and Lo-Rise. Parking on the streets of Middletown is also often difficult to find.
Although there are other options for students without cars, many say that owning a car is the simplest way to get around.
“It sucks not having a car,” said Allyson Chung ’10. “It’s definitely not a necessity but it would make life a lot easier, in terms of shopping or going home.”
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