<p>Do you need a bike? How often do you use it? How expensive is it to get a bike in Ann Arbor? What are the chances that your bike gets stolen?</p>
<p>No, you don’t need a bike. A lot of people do have bikes, but it’s still a small percentage of the student body. Central campus is small enough to get by without one, and riding them downtown is a dumb idea. Those who do use them typically just use them to go from class to class or to meetings, etc.</p>
<p>Bikes are bikes… I don’t think prices vary too much from place to place. It also depends on the type and quality of bike you get.</p>
<p>Whether it gets stolen or not is based on if you lock it up whenever you’re not using it. If you don’t do this, then there’s a chance it’ll be stolen.</p>
<p>You definitely don’t need a bike. If you like riding a bike then it can be nice to have while the weather is decent which means September October and April. For the most part it’s more of hassle than it’s worth.</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>I bike all the time, even all thru the winter (except a few days that had slush everywhere). The amount of time it saves definitely adds up. There’s also a bike shop just 2 blocks from the diag should u need repair, or to buy one. There’s racks everywhere and if u don’t want it stolen, just don’t leave it out overnight, although even this is safe in certain areas, and of course get a lock.</p>
<p>The actual cost of a bike I’m not sure. Just brought the same one I’ve had for years.</p>
<p>Does the answer change if my son, who has chronic foot and leg pain due to a rare medical condition, chooses UM? He has been accepted there, and while we visited the campus for a few hours, he was not able to get a sense of how much walking he would have to do (he is going to major in Classics).</p>
<p>PsychoDad10, it may make a difference. Depending on where classes are, there may or may not be a lot of walking (other than for things like football games).</p>
<p>I would also suggest talking to the housing people if you haven’t already. It may help if your son can have housing in a dorm closer to the center of campus. West Quad is the closest but there are no elevators and I don’t know if stairs is a problem.</p>
<p>You might also want to see if an accommodation can be made for registration. They have the ability to accommodate students with disabilities to allow for early registration. This may help your son craft a schedule that will reduce the amount of walking by allowing for more options before sections close out.</p>
<p>South Quad probably is ideal, being a 5 min walk to the diag, not up hill, and has elevators. First floor West Quad doesn’t require an elevator, but athletes stay there i believe, so it gets rowdy. He should definitely contact housing soon to get put in a dorm not far away. I believe all or most class buildings also have ramps/elevator (sorry if i put too much emphasis on this). </p>
<p>Biking sounds like it might be physically easier than walking, although he would know best. The bike does most of the work. You can also get in touch with the SSD office. They really try to be helpful with personal transit or even hiring someone to take notes if he cannot make it to lecture. Also plenty of students are willing to help out. </p>
<p>It’s a big campus but also very centralized if his classes/ housing is in the same area.</p>
<p>I think South Quad is closed next year for renovations.</p>
<p>There are blue buses running around campus too. Biking is popular in Ann Arbor, but not very useful on campus.</p>
<p>Oh didn’t know that. East Quad location isn’t bad then either. The buses often require standing for 10 min+ in the cold waiting, are therefore slower than walking, and then have to stand as well on the bus if it’s crowded, so i don’t know if his kid will like that. I certainly never take them.</p>
<p>Biking is extremely unpleasant in Ann Arbor. It’s hard for me to say whether your son will need a bike, though, because I don’t know how long/far he can comfortably walk. I’m a fairly fast walker, but the longest I’ve ever needed to walk on campus was ten minutes.</p>
<p>Unless you need to go between North and Central campus, everything is within walking distance.</p>
<p>What about outside of the campus (ie. visiting some places)? Is it worth it to get a bike or should I just take public transportation. Btw, I am from NYC and I have no idea how public transportation works in A2.</p>