Hi! I’m a current student at UCF, and I live on-campus (I’m also in the scholars program). I don’t own a car and don’t have a driver’s license, so transit is something I deal with often. UCF does have a shuttle system. Most of the shuttles service off-campus apartment complexes, although one services the Central Florida Research Park, which is helpful for internships. There are two on-campus circulators which run in concentric circles around campus to help students get to classes. UCF also has a hospitality campus located near Disney/SeaWorld/Universal (which is on the other side of Orlando), and the Rosen College shuttle services that campus. I’m starting an internship at an engineering firm near there, so I will take that shuttle every day and take an Uber/Lyft the rest of the way. The Health Sciences campus at Lake Nona also has its own shuttle. On Tuesdays, there is a grocery shuttle which runs from campus to Publix.
If you need to get to other places in Orlando, there is Lynx, the public transportation system. UCF has a Lynx station on campus, and there are three Lynx lines which service the University. 434 runs through Oviedo and connects to the Oviedo mall, 104 goes down University Boulevard, and 13 meanders over to the Winter Park area. If you take any of these to the end of the line, you will end up at Lynx Central Station in Downtown Orlando. I use Lynx pretty often when I need to get somewhere. It does require planning (you have to search the maps and schedules to decide which routes to take), but it is very affordable ($2 fare). These also connect to Sunrail, which can take you North or South through Central Florida. If you take Lynx to a Sunrail station, your bus transfer covers Sunrail as well (there is an added fee if you take it to another fare zone). There is also KnightLynx, a Lynx line which is free with your student ID. It only runs on Friday and Saturday nights. The blue line services the shopping center near campus (Waterford Lakes), and the red line runs downtown.
UCF Student Government just struck a deal with Uber to subsidize rides within a certain area on Friday and Saturday nights. They will pay half your fare as long as the ride starts and ends in the service area.
The airport is tricky since Uber isn’t allowed there right now (although that will change in July). You can take Lynx/Sunrail. UCF SGA also has KnightFlight, which is a free airport shuttle that runs at the beginning and end of Spring Break, Winter Break, and Summer Break. The problem I run into most often is that I like to take red-eye flights to save money, but these services end at around midnight. Then I get price gouged by the taxi company (although if you have an SGA Safe Ride ticket, you can take a taxi to any residential building and SGA will pay up to $35. It’s about $50 for a taxi from the airport, so with the ticket, you can get home for ~$20).
If your student can drive, there are also Zipcars on campus which you can rent for an hourly or daily charge.
The problem I run into most often is that most transit services end with the workday, and it can take considerably longer to take a bus rather than drive. The last Lynx run of the night for UCF lines is between 10-11 PM on weekdays, and around 7 on Sundays. If you have a transfer from another Lynx line, those could end as early as 7. The only one that doesn’t is KnightLynx Red, which runs until ~3AM. You have to plan ahead. For example, today I found a free movie ticket and decided to go to the theater at around 7PM. The earliest bus to a theater would have been 7:30 or 8, and if I went to a 8:30 movie I would have to book it to get to the last Lynx run of the night at 10:45. Looks like I’m gonna have to take an Uber 