<p>how far can i go on public transportation in tuscaloosa? is not bringing a car OK?</p>
<p>Especially if you have lots of friends with cars, a car is not necessary at UA. Without a car, you can still do your grocery shopping a reasonably-priced store (Publix), go to restaurants, rent a movie, etc. Tuscaloosa does have public transportation, but it only operates M-F and limited hours at that. When I’d take the Tuscaloosa Trolley, as it is called, to Wal-Mart, I would spend much of my day doing so.</p>
<p>This year, the Crimson Ride expanded and now goes to the Midtown Village outdoor shopping mall, the University Mall, and Target on Sunday afternoons and further expansion of such routes is being discussed.</p>
<p>By not bringing a car, you are saving on parking, gas, maintenance, and insurance since many insurance companies give free or reduced premiums to students living over 250 miles away from home without a vehicle.</p>
<p>This year, the Crimson Ride expanded and now goes to the Midtown Village outdoor shopping mall, the University Mall, and Target on Sunday afternoons and further expansion of such routes is being discussed.</p>
<p>very good info…</p>
<p>Siglio…it’s rare for a student not to have a friend or suitemate that doesn’t have a car. My kids transport other kids to various places when needed…but the need really doesn’t occur much.</p>
<p>Publix (popular grocery…similar to Vons or Ralphs in Calif) is on the Crimson Ride route. </p>
<p>Of course, the Crimson Ride also goes to **The Strip **where many “off-campus” hangouts are. Look at the Green Line, the Gold Line, and the Blue Line. The Strip is where University Blvd meets Campus Drive on the left of this map.</p>
<p><a href=“http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf[/url]”>http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf</a></p>
<p>There are businesses and fast food joints along University Blvd (by the Student Health Center) which are within easy walking distance from the Crimson Ride.</p>
<p>348-Ride is a free shuttle service that operates when the CR is not operating. It has an expanded service area…</p>
<p>*The service area includes campus and neighborhoods between Greensboro Avenue to the west, 15th Street to the south, Helen Keller Boulevard to the east, and Jack Warner Parkway to the north. *</p>
<p>[url=<a href=“http://crimsonride.ua.edu/pages/348-ride.htm]348-RIDE[/url”>http://crimsonride.ua.edu/pages/348-ride.htm]348-RIDE[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I don’t think Malanai, Momreads, MikeW, Montegut, and other CC people’s kids have cars on campus. </p>
<p>My older son didn’t have a car on campus at first. He and his brother now share a car, but they don’t use it on a daily basis.</p>
<p>
You’re right, m2ck, my son doesn’t have a car on campus. But he’s had no trouble whatsoever sharing rides with friends who do, including getting rides to and from BHM this Thanksgiving holiday. In exchange for his friends’ generosity, he offers gas $$.</p>
<p>Add my D as another OOS student who doesn’t have a car on campus. Since she’s in Ridgecrest West, she finds the weekly trip to Publix to be an easy walk, although she did break down & take the Crimson Ride when she was sick. She has taken advantage of the new Sunday off campus “shopping” route at least once a month (probably every 2-3 weeks) to go to Barnes & Noble, Best Buy & Target. She has asked friends for a ride once or twice & they were happy to oblige.</p>
<p>how long does it take to walk all the way across campus?</p>
<p>It really depends on which parts of campus you are walking between and which parking lots and grass you decide to walk across. Generally speaking, you can walk between most any two points on campus in less than 15 minutes, though really long walks such as from the Moody Music Building to Lakeside Dining Hall would take longer (26 minutes according to Google,) though very rarely would you have a walk that long.</p>
<p>Dint forget about the Zipcars for off-campus needs.</p>
<p>Siglio…</p>
<p>Did you look at the Crimson Ride routes? you can take the CR whenever you have a long way to go.</p>
<p>As you can see from the map, <a href=“http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf[/url]”>http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf</a> the campus is kind of oddly shaped, so there’s no quick answer as to how long it takes to walk across…since “across” doesn’t really apply.</p>
<p>BTW…on the map…the area that’s between 12:00 and 3:00 that is still blue, is land that Bama bought last spring, so that will be new land to expand upon. </p>
<p>Oh…yes…zip cars…I saw them on campus this weekend. They’re parked north of Ridgecrest North…by the CR stop.</p>
<p>thank you all! the campus seems pretty big…</p>
<p>Siglio…</p>
<p>Right now, the land size of Bama is the same as the land size of UC Santa Barbara…both are at 1000 acres. </p>
<p>As I mentioned above, that piece of land that’s between 12:00 and 2:00 (like a big missing pie piece) is another 300 acres for future growth, but since it’s in a convenient location, it will only make the campus better. I don’t know what they plan to put there…perhaps more residential housing?</p>
<p>Siglio21: My son does not have a car, and he’s never been without a ride somewhere. All three of his suitemates have cars. So there is no need to have a car. Besides, if he had one at UA, the insurance would be a killer – as in, $1200 or more a year. He also loves to walk everywhere, so that 15-minute stroll across campus is a pleasure.</p>
<p>kind of hard to explain Siglio, but the campus seems much smaller and more compact than other similarly-sized schools we visited. DS is OOS in Ridgecrest West and has been able to get around easily, makes his Publix runs without the Crimson Ride with no problems.</p>
<p>It’s because one, especially an on-campus resident, rarely needs to go to the extremes of campus. Almost everything is within a five-minute walk of the quad.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Very true. </p>
<p>Many of the buildings on the out perimeters aren’t places that students go to very often…such as Coleman Coliseum, Student Health Center, etc. </p>
<p>And, if you’re in - say - Honors housing in the north side of campus, you’d have few reasons to be over at the residence halls on the south of campus.</p>
<p>Pretty much what students need is in the center of campus. And, classes within your major, are often in buildings that are grouped in a section of campus.</p>
<p><a href=“http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf[/url]”>http://crimsonride.ua.edu/images/2010-maps/Crimson-Ride-handout.pdf</a></p>
<p>On the second page of that PDF file there’s a route called the Express route that runs Thurs- Sunday very late at night. What is this route and what’s that dot dot dot area over by the stadium for?</p>
<p>That is the 348-RIDE Express route. The dotted route is the alternate route the bus travels on gamedays.</p>
<p>LOL…I should have enlarged the map more. Now I see where that’s written. Thanks.</p>
<p>It’s good to see that those who are on The Strip late on the weekends, can still get a ride back to their dorms.</p>