Fall semester started at IUPUI in downtown Indy this week. I will be taking some classes on campus. As such, transportation becomes a big issue. IUPUI being a commuter campus draws a lot of people from outside of the core of Indy and by extension, provide areas for those people to park their cars. The lack of a robust transit system forces the bulk of students to drive to school.
I live just in bicycling range of school and as luck would have it, this year’s students were provided with (for free with tuition)Â the IndyGO S-Pass, which grants free trips on all of IndyGO’s fixed routes. If tallied against the expense of 12 months worth of 31 day passes, this is a $720 value. Not a bad catch for someone who doesn’t mind using the bus.
So this morning, I finally was able to get into the transportation office during business hours and pick mine up. My plan will be bicycling to school, and taking the Route 17 bus back to Broad Ripple and riding the surface streets the rest of the way home. All to avoid paying for a parking pass and discouraging more automobile oriented facilities on the campus which could be better served by educational facilities.
I’ve had an S-Pass for three years running now, and I’m extremely pleased with the program. Now that parking has become such an arduous chore on campus, I actually have the experience and willingness to ride the bus on a regular basis.
I’ve got mine as well. Unfortunately, I haven’t had much chance to use it yet, as I live in the Fisher area. But I do have a 4 hour gap between classes tomorrow. I think I might have to bus over to Mass Ave for a beer or two before my accounting class (trust me, I’ll need ’em!)
This is great. Washington University in St. Louis provides free public transportation to all of its students. I attend Butler, where, despite viciously high tuition, no such program is offered. The University does, however, provide a free shuttle to and from Broad Ripple Thursday through Saturday nights (I think). Offering an S-Pass to students would not only be a great value, considering the costs of the pass and tuition, it would also allow students to explore wonderful Indianapolis beyond Broad Ripple Ave.
This is great! Ivy Tech offers students a similar program – running 15.00 a month, which is also a significant savings.