<p>Hey guys I haven't visited Duke's campus yet, but I've heard it's a huge one - specially if you consider the distance between the East and West campi. So that means I should get a car, right?
I know it's a lame question, but help me out, please...
Thanks!</p>
<p>Having a car might be nice for other reasons, but you definitely don’t need one to get between East and West campus. There are buses that run between East and West regularly, and parking on West is a hassle, so I’d recommend just using the buses to get to class.</p>
<p>Our son left his car at home until senior year when he moved off campus. Worked fine for him.</p>
<p>No, you don’t need a car. The C-1/C-2 buses run regularly between East and West campus during the school year. If you live in the central campus apartments the C-2 bus will get the job done. You can always get rides from friends to go out.</p>
<p>I should have added to #3 that our son’s room mate did not have a car senior year. tTey had an apartment very close to the buses on East Campus, so, even then, a car is not required.</p>
<p>Thank you for your help!</p>
<p>I both agree and disagree with what others have said. Short answer: no, by no means do you need a car to get around campus, as the C1 and C2 buses run regularly between East, West, and Central.</p>
<p>However… Freshmen have a separate campus and Durham isn’t exactly known for its accessibility (or safety). Of course, you could hop on the Bull City Connector (bus) for free, but if you want to access major shopping centers like Walmart, Target, or the mall, you’ll probably want to make some friends who have cars 
As a current freshman, I kind of wish in retrospect that I would have brought my car this year, just so I can escape the confines of East campus every now and then!</p>
<p>^ I second that. A car isn’t strictly necessary for a Duke student because practically everything you’ll need can be found on campus (which has a great transit bus system). However it can get pretty old pretty fast. Of course you can befriend someone with a car, but at least for me personally, I hate to impose on others and I usually like to just jump in my car and drive all around town getting things done and exploring. That’s really hard to do when you have to beg for rides. Plus, it’s impolite to hog all the trunk space with my costco purchases :). </p>
<p>In the end, it’s pretty cheap to keep a car on campus (compared with urban universities, parking is a steal, and freshmen lots are soooooooooo convenient) and I would definitely recommend having one if it’s not too much trouble bringing/getting one. But just be realistic about what you are going to use it for. You’ll want it for weekend trips to the movies/Southpoint, late night CookOut runs, grocery trips, seeking out new restaurants, driving over and parking on west at night/on weekends for all night library cramming sessions, dashing over to Walmart for handwarmers during tenting season, etc. not commuting to and from class.</p>
<p>SBR; where did you store your Costco purchases? Hard for me in my own house!</p>
<p>D is a junior and no car yet… but this year she is in central and roommate has a car. Seems much better to be the friend of someone with a car. Last year they both used that hourly car thing (zip car?), with great results.</p>
<p>To expand on what Shrinkrap said, there are six or more zipcars on campus (4 on West, 2 on East, maybe more elsewhere) that you can rent hourly. It’s $8 an hour, $30 annual fee with the first year’s fee given as credit toward future rentals. If you’re only gonna go to Costco once a month or so, it’s much cheaper than having your own car.</p>
<p>Well Costco is great for stuff like ready-made food, toilet paper, paper towels and stuff. I only really started going a lot junior and senior years when I had my own apartments on central and later off campus. Lots and lots of space that way :)</p>
<p>Yeah I forgot about the zipcars. I didn’t really get to use those when I was a student because by the time they arrived I had my own car. But they can definitely delay the need to have a car on campus for a few years, especially if you don’t really go anywhere.</p>
<p>YES YES YES YOU NEED A CAR.</p>
<p>everyone told me you didnt need one before coming here, and i agree that its totally unnecessary to have a car to get from east campus to west campus. however, your quality of life will dramatically increase if you have one. a car is absolutely necessary for going to target, getting prescriptions filled at riteaid/cvs, and durham actually has really nice dining options that you can try. fosters, loyo, sushi love, parker and otis, piazza italia, parizades, vita, revolution, just to mention a few. also a car is very necessary for getting outfits for theme partiess and tailgate</p>
<p>somehow, our son managed to do all those things without a car for the first 3 years. Probably because about half of his friends had cars and they did these things in groups. If we had lived closer to Duke, he may have decided to take his car earlier, but it was always an option for him if he had thought it to be necessary.</p>
<p>no, in my experience you do not need a car. a bike is sufficient for running errands, and you can rent them for free at the outpost - there is a mall and a target within biking distance (the latter is a bit far, but it’s a great workout). whole foods, dollar general, and lots of great shopping/dining areas (brightleaf, ninth street, downtown durham) are all within walking distance. as for prescriptions, we happen to have a fairly impressive medical center, complete with pharmacy, right here on campus.
all that being said, though, I was glad to have a friend with a car, for eating out at non-walkable places, some shopping trips (if you’re buying big stuff that won’t fit in a bike basket), and random group outings. so that may be a case for bringing a car, but it may also be a case against it - everyone will want to borrow it or ask you to drive them places.</p>
<p>About how many freshmen/sophomores have cars? Half? 20%? Is it unusual to have a car or pretty common…</p>
<p>Maybe around a third so it’s pretty common.</p>