Making the most of your bus pass

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A freshman’s perspective on a parking alternative

For all incoming freshmen, college has come at last. We can finally soak in all of the excitement and anticipation we’ve had through the summer months and put them to good use. We have new freedom in many areas of our lives and are at the university of our choice. What could be better?

Throughout campus, several services and student-specific are advertised, parking passes being one of them. Of course, anyone who has a car in college is going to want to drive to class so here are the deals: $50 for a semester or $80 for a year.

Then comes the first day of school. You arrive a little bit early so that you can get a quick parking spot and find your class on time.  You pull into the first lot you see and soon waste about twenty minutes in the lot and soon find yourself in the back lot by the library on the opposite end of campus from your class and it’s complete chaos.

You end up wasting a half-gallon of gas just zooming around trying to find a spot and by the time you do, you’re 10 minutes late to your first class.

What’s wrong with this picture? If UVU has 30,000 students, they should supply fair, accessible parking for everyone who paid their $80 right? But no, and now your first day has gone terribly wrong and you realize this is what you have to deal with all year long. What a dreadful thought.

But there is an alternate solution: the UTA bus system. UVU has partnered with them, saving all of us poor college students big amounts of money.

It costs $20 for a bus pass, good for one year, and the bus drops students off in front of campus. The number of students commuting has clearly increased in line with the rising enrollment levels.

This is why the bus pass is a perfect and equal opportunity for any kind of student.

Aside from pointing out the commuter student, not all students living down here are fortunate enough to have their own vehicle.

“My parents didn’t let me take my car down to college from Seattle because my little brothers needed it,” said freshmen Stephanie Quick.

“I was extremely frustrated at the thought of ‘Where could I go to school and have a cheap accessible ride to school without my own transportation?’ Then I was told about UVU’s awesome partnership with UTA and I love it!”

Aside from the convenience and affordability of the pass, it also saves everyone gas who would have driven to campus otherwise, with no need to book it across campus to be on time for your first class.

A bus pass can be the right solution to your commuting woes. Just stop by campus connection with your UV ID card, slip them a twenty and they’ll add your pass right onto your ID, and you have to do no more than that!