<p>I'm going to be using my car next year, so do any current Rice students know where is the best place for a freshman to park? Thanks!</p>
<p>West Lot or Greenbriar. West Lot is maybe a quarter mile closer to the colleges, but Greenbriar Lot is cheaper.</p>
<p>I’m just wondering why do you want to use a car during freshman year. </p>
<p>Rice provides you with unlimited use of the Houston transportation for free (unless you want to drive to farther places but then you can rent a car for cheap from Rice). I mean I think that would end up being cheaper than paying for parking fee, and then for gas and maintenance. Just my thought. I can see why you would want to drive your car.</p>
<p>Rice has “zip car” on campus. I think it is $35 bucks to join, then $7 an hour (which includes gas and insurance!). Great for running errands and conveniently located on campus. [Zipcar</a> : Organizations : Rice University](<a href=“http://www.zipcar.com/rice/]Zipcar”>Rice University | Zipcar) Neither of my kids has/had a car at Rice and they survived fine, plus I didn’t have to spend lots of money insuring them!!! ;)</p>
<p>The zip cars seem like a great option. I think they just became available at Rice last year, right? I’d be interested in hearing from students who’ve used them about how that’s worked out. How available have they been? Can you generally get one when you want one?</p>
<p>The Metro is good and all, but it really isn’t an expansive transit system like some cities have. It’s range is fairly limited (for now); mainly it’s a straight shot from Reliant to UH-Downtown, with the area between the Museum District and the Downtown Transit Center being not so nice/pretty for exploring. There is a huge Forever 21 and some other nice stores popping up in a new complex close to the Bell stop, fwiw. I’m not knocking it though, the MetroRail is a great resource and I really appreciate that we get free access. I’m just saying that it’s not going to get you everywhere you want to go, at least not without some serious walking.</p>
<p>[Rail</a> Schedule](<a href=“http://www.ridemetro.org/SchedulesMaps/RailSched.aspx]Rail”>METRORail | Red Line | Green Line | Purple Line | Houston, Texas)</p>
<p>Hm, I used to think that only the rail was free (and not the buses), but seeing as we have a Qcard I don’t see why we couldn’t use it for the buses… I’ve never heard of a Rice student using the bus system but it definitely expands the accessible area, so why not? I’ll have to look into this!</p>
<p>I’ve never used the Zip cars but I’m assuming that as they become more popular, they will be harder to access. We only have TWO for all of Rice. Maybe we’ll get more though with increased demand. I’m fairly certain you have to reserve a car in advance, but how far in advance I’m not sure (a week? a month?).</p>
<p>I brought a car freshman year and definitely got a lot of use out of it. I live close by though, so trips home accounted for quite a bit of that. The upside to having a car is that it’s fun to go to the movies or on late night food runs with friends. The downside is when people who know you have a car ask you to do favors for them like take them to their doctor appointments, etc. Grr. And I’d say most parents who say their kids were happy as clams without cars don’t quite realize how many of their childrens’ friends had cars. ;)</p>
<p>I’d say if you’re from Texas and you already have a car, it’s worth bringing. I have a roommate who even brought hers down from Tenessee.
I definitely use my car ALL the time. It helps when friends need errands run, which is VERY good for meeting people at the beginning of freshman year. And nothing beats late-night food runs…except maybe late-night Galveston runs.</p>
<p>True! But zipcar will help with that. You reserve it online. I imagine if need expands, they will add other cars. My kids took the bus as part of getting to and from the airport, I think… Also, Rice has a shuttle to the supertarget (groceries, etc) and village. The village is certainly close enough to walk or ride bikes, but some like the ride…</p>
<p>There is a good upside to bringing a car, but it’s not beneficial when you have to constantly pay for gas, parking and insurance (oh and the cost of maintenance: oil changes and if your car broke down or got into a crash)–it definetly also saves the worries of speeding or accidents. Not to mention the time spent in traffic when you could have taken the rail. I mean it’s great to get some exercise and enjoy the Houston weather.</p>
<p>Whether it’s beneficial or not is really a personal opinion…
As for myself, I don’t worry too much when I speed. 
I’ve never gotten a ticket or into an accident (and hopefully I never will! Odds are against me I realize). Since I already have my car, I would have to pay the insurance (at least liability)/maintenance anyway, my car gets fairly good gas mileage and is a reliable make/model. Traffic’s not too bad in my opinion, unless it’s rush hour.</p>
<p>Like I said, I live within easy driving distance, so for me having a car was beneficial. Also, I really value the freedom of being able to get off campus whenever I so choose. Gas money is just the price I have to pay. I had a job all through the school year so it wasn’t too bad for me. It’s all about what your priorities are. If you’d rather stay on campus and/or spend money on other things, that’s your prerogative.</p>
<p>Parking fees are very ridiculous, I’ll give you that!! 
It is great to get exercise and enjoy the weather. Except this summer heat, soo hot! :)</p>
<p>I would recommend West Lot. That’s where I’ve parked the entire time I’ve had a car at Rice.</p>
<p>How much does a parking permit cost?</p>
<p>[Contract</a> Parking - Rice University Parking](<a href=“http://cohesion.rice.edu/campusservices/parktrans/parking/contract.cfm?doc_id=5519]Contract”>http://cohesion.rice.edu/campusservices/parktrans/parking/contract.cfm?doc_id=5519)</p>
<p>But that’s 08-09, so I think… a little more expensive. :/</p>
<p>I’ll be an off-campus student next year, so my car is definitely a necessity, but thanks for all the info everyone! Is the parking fee for the whole year or per semester?</p>
<p>HAHA, **** that. I’ll just leave my car parked in my landlord’s driveway and take the rail. That’s ludicrously expensive.</p>
<p>FWIW, UT charges that much per semester.</p>
<p>i feel that a car is a good thing to have. i have survived without one for 3 years yes but also because a lot of my good friends have them. im probably gonna get a motorcycle for my senior year</p>
<p>the metro is good ONLY for going to downtown theatres/reliant park/toyota center etc…</p>
<p>i’m planning on bringing a car 2nd semester. with they pro-rate those contract parking fees?</p>
<p>it is per semester.</p>
<p>I think those prices are off. I paid $440 for a west lot year-long parking ticket this year, and that has it listed as $230 per semester. Unless there’s a discount for purchasing both semesters? Though for freshmen I think west lot is $530 per year.</p>