<p>Hi,
I'm moving to Cornell this fall as a grad student... living downtown, a bit off of commons. My three roommates all have cars, and I'm debating if I want to have one or not. </p>
<p>1) is the bus system really as efficient as it seems? I was waiting for the bus to go to campus in front of the city hall and it took FOREVER</p>
<p>2) I'd want the car to go to Wegman's and little trips to Target, the mall occasionally,etc. THe bus apparently goes there too... but it seems to be a Reaaaaallly long ride</p>
<p>3) I'm mostly worried about driving in the winter, on icy streets. advice?</p>
<p>Other than that, I have a car already and i can probably cover gas and insurance on my grad stipend. But it may just be simpler and more ecologically efficient if I share with my housemates. thoughts?</p>
<p>If your housemates are willing to let you drive their car...I'd do it. I had this arrangement with a friend this year...we split parking and gas. Worked great for the both of us.</p>
<p>It's my understanding that Ithaca Carshare will be subsidized by the University. I would just go for that:</p>
<p>Cornell</a> Chronicle: Ithaca Carshare launches</p>
<p>Getting to campus from the Commons is pretty easy. Busses basically run every 10 to 15 minutes during the weekday, and are generally very punctual. Getting to the Pyramid Mall isn't too bad either. Getting to Wegmans by bus will be a little bit more difficult, but it's a very easy bike ride if you are already living down by the Commons.</p>
<p>I would recommend a car if you like the outdoors and are interested in exploring Upstate New York on the weekends. I did a lot of snowshoeing and hiking in my days at Cornell, and it was much easier with a car.</p>
<p>Also, what will you be studying at Cornell? If you are at one of the professional schools or in the humanities, a car would be less needed than if you were in the natural or physical sciences and were working in a lab all night long. The walk down to the Commons feels much longer at 2AM than it is at 6PM.</p>
<p>wow, that carshare program sounds really awesome!</p>