<p>Does anyone know anything about the Amtrak from SLO to OC? Where is the station? How long does it take? Is there a bus involved?</p>
<p>The station in SLO is close to campus and there is a bus that takes you there. Then it’s about a 5 hour trip to Union Station in LA. Then you connect to OC. Depends on where in OC but look here [url=<a href=“Amtrak”>Amtrak]Amtrak[/url</a>] to see if a bus is involved from there to your final destination.</p>
<p>depending on the time a bus may come to campus to the train station but more importantly /… depending on the time, you may be on a greyhound to santa barbara, then train to LA/union station where you will change trains</p>
<p>Last year I took the train many times between SLO and Fullerton. The station is near downtown (at the end of Santa Rosa). There’s an Amtrak bus that can pick you up on campus. Whether you leave from campus or the station, the same bus will take you to Santa Barbara. From there you take a train. There are routes that require you to switch trains in LA, but I never did those. Going back to SLO you can do the same trip in reverse (train to SB, bus to SLO) or there are a few routes that go from SoCal to SLO completely on the train. Then you can take the Amtrak bus to campus. This route does take about 6 1/2 hrs from Fullerton though. The bus will usually make the trip quicker in my experience (about 6 hrs).</p>
<p>My son took the bus from in front of the dorms to the SLO station, 5 minutes away; then took the train to Irvine. He did have to change trains in LA. Going back from Irvine does not involve changing trains. It is a long ride, but they have plenty of time for homework! My son did not take a car up his freshman year, so he was going to have to take the train. He did it one time. He made many friends that live in OC and was always able to hitch a ride. It all worked out great.</p>
<p>We live in the opposite direction, San Mateo, and I’ve heard similar things regarding the Amtrak train/bus drill and the ready availability of car pools. Combine this with the fact that SLO Public Transportation is free for Cal Poly students leads me to the conclusion that there is no need for a freshman to have a car. Our son, of course, strenuously objects to this. Is there anything else I should take into consideration?</p>
<p>I don’t think your son will need a car at all. In fact, we were opposed to our son taking one next year (sophmore yr). He’s living in Poly Canyon with 5 other guys. All of them will have a car, and 3 of them live in our area. But, we caved :/</p>
<p>It’s all about independence I think.<br>
Do you happen to know what the parking logistics and costs are? I’m also concerned about security. Any idea if there’s any theft and/or break in problems?</p>
<p>[CAL</a> POLY UNIVERSITY POLICE DEPARTMENT](<a href=“http://police.calpoly.edu/parking/parking_permits_fees.htm]CAL”>http://police.calpoly.edu/parking/parking_permits_fees.htm)</p>
<p>$150 a quarter if you are living on campus, $105 is you are not.
That’s a lot cheaper than I remember it… I can’t remember how much Mustang Village or Stenner Glen (two private apartment complexes near Cal Poly) charge.</p>
<p>In my experience, vandalism of vehicles is a moderate problem. There are a lot of drunken idiots out there. I’d still say the Cal Poly lots are relatively safe. They are patrolled by the police frequently during the odd hours when the drunken idiots are active. Or, whenever they can get parking tickets :)</p>
<p>I haven’t dwelt with it personally… My primary form of transport is human-powered. And, at least they don’t charge bikes to park on campus.</p>
<p>Thanks bjornredtail. He’ll probably reside in Sierra Madre which means the big lot I think. Definitely leaning towards the human-powered option though.</p>
<p>If he does bring his car gotpeter he should be aware that the police are out in full force the first few weeks of school. They try to clamp down on speeding, etc before things get out of hand. Also there are a few one way streets downtown. Every year I see about 10 kids going the wrong way at the beginning of school.</p>
<p>Thanks for the heads up slodad. Car + freshman year just seems like a bad idea.</p>
<p>I agree gotpeter</p>
<p>I think it’s ‘Mother Mountain’… I lived in Sierra Madre my freshman year. It was quite the experience.</p>
<p>I love biking around SLO the surrounding area. And I like the fact that I’m saving so much in parking and insurance and whatnot. I guess my parents are lucky that I’m just so cheap in this regard… I guess I’ll have to remind them of that when I go to buy a new bike :)</p>
<p>My son’s “case for a car” is that he’s an avid kite surfer - an instructor actually - and that entails schlepping a significant amount of equipment around. Tough to do on a bike or a bus but, not impossible.</p>
<p>ahh…that’s right. a car would come in handy then. i actually may hit him up for some lessons!</p>