Commuting has its share of pros and woes

Rolling out of bed at 6:30 a.m. just to get to class on time might seem ridiculous to most… Rolling out of bed at 6:30 a.m. just to get to class on time might seem ridiculous to most students. But for many commuter students, such a scenario is everyday life.

Some people think that being a commuter student means missing out on the experiences that make these college years so great — like living away from home and meeting new people — but it doesn’t have to be that way. Commuter students have access to the same University services available to any other student. They have the same potential to get involved in campus activities and organizations, and such involvement is strongly encouraged.

Financial considerations are a major reason to think about commuting. Last year, commuter students potentially saved more than $3,000 each semester by not living in the residence halls, thereby foregoing the resident students’ meal plan and housing costs. There are other benefits to living at home. Commuter students don’t have to put up with sharing a room with a complete stranger, listening to someone else’s loud music at 4 a.m., watching drunk students run by their bedroom door at all hours, waiting for a poorly lit, dingy shower to clean up each morning or eating campus food.

There are also meal plans specifically designed for commuter students who are interested in occasionally taking advantage of the convenience of on-campus dining. Instead of the traditional plan allotting a certain number of meals each week, which is required for students who live on campus, commuter student meal plans have a combination of either 15 or 30 meals per term and $155 or $300 dining dollars, which don’t expire until the end of the semester.

Computing Services and Systems Development offers the Posvar Hall Commuter Consulting Service, where consultants are available to give computer support specifically to commuter students. Appointments can be made by calling the Technology Help Desk at (412) 624-HELP. Also, the College of General Studies offers a lounge on the third floor of the Cathedral where CGS students, who are often nontraditional or commuter students, can relax or study.

But commuting also has disadvantages.

Parking is one of the biggest issues commuter students face. Most students feel that parking at Pitt is a lose-lose situation, and no one knows it better than the commuter students who must rush around the busy, crowded streets of Oakland 10 minutes before their classes start, only to arrive 20 minutes late because they couldn’t find a parking spot.

If you’re lucky enough to find a metered parking space, your only concern will be to remember to continuously feed the meter throughout the day. But if the hassle and unreliability of meter parking isn’t appealing, commuter students can purchase parking permits each term from the Department of Parking and Transportation. Commuter students with only evening classes can purchase evening permits that allow them to park close to campus relatively easily and inexpensively after many of the daytime commuters are gone.

With commuter students relying so heavily on their vehicles for transportation, the phone number for the Motorist Assistance Program is an important one to remember. By calling (412) 624-4034 and showing your Pitt ID to the parking enforcement assistant who arrives to help you, your car can be jump-started and keys can be retrieved if locked inside.

For students whose homes lie near the bus line, the free bus pass given to all students in the form of student IDs offers an instant ticket to campus without the hassle of parking or driving in heavy traffic. Although the stops along the bus line can get annoying, the buses are usually reliable and arrive dependably according to the bus schedule.

The true beauty for commuter students lies at the end of the day, when they can get into their cars or hop a bus and return to the comforts of home and the closeness and familiarity of family.

In the meantime, remaining active on campus and making new friends is essential to feeling at home while at Pitt.