College Transportation (pt. 1)

Walking

It almost goes without saying. If you're coming to university, and you don't have a car, you're going to have to do some walking. Even if you do have a car, the parking lots aren't always available for you to use or convenient to your classes - the campus was designed for walking. You’ll probably spend a decent portion of each day walking around, and that time adds up. Consider things you can do while you walk, like calling home or responding to emails, or making epic Instagram posts.

For any distance less than ten minutes, walking will absolutely get you there faster. For distances around fifteen minutes, it depends on when the next bus is scheduled to arrive and whether it stops to idle in between. But plan to get your steps in every day and bring comfortable walking shoes. Now is the time to invest in a good pair - I had three pairs of cheap shoes fail on me in one semester before finally investing in a more expensive pair that has lasted the past three years without a broken heel or hole in the sole.

Biking

This is the big question. UVA is a big campus, and it's not always convenient to wait for the buses to come around. At some point in most every college student's life, they've considered whether it's worth it to bring a bike. The answer? How strong is your resolve?

As someone who brought a bike to campus and only made it from one bike rack to the next before chaining it up and never riding it again, I'd urge you to consider the landscape. There are lots of hills. Some of them are very steep (have you seen the hill between Slaughter and Hereford? It's incredibly steep and practically uphill both ways). Not only do you get to ride down them, but you have to ride back up eventually.

A lot of people bring their bikes to grounds and use them without a problem - there are plenty of bike racks and bike lanes designed just for that. But if you're like me and not part-Hulk part-adrenaline junkie, maybe it's not the best option for you.

Electric scooters

If all else fails and you're running late, an electric scooter might be your best bet. These scooters are left on the sidewalks by third party companies, so you do have to pay for them. But you only pay for the time that you're using them, and you can just leave it for the next person to find once you reach your destination. (Bonus points if you don’t leave it directly in the middle of the sidewalk.)

Some of the companies pulled out during the height of the pandemic, so there are fewer scooters than there once were. But odds are you can find a Veo scooter if you check the map in the app, especially if you're on central grounds or near the corner.