<p>My daughter will be attending the University of Nebraska at Lincoln next fall. She currrently shares a car with her sister, and she's thinking about buying her own car (with our help) to take to college. Our family is wondering if the hassle/expense of another car is worth it. I've heard that the transportation system in Lincoln is not the best, but if she lives on campus, will she truly need a car to get around? Will the car sit in the lot most of the time? We live down south, and none of us has a lot of experience with harsh winter driving, although I'm sure they are well prepared in Nebraska. Any insights from current/former UNL students are appreciated.</p>
<p>My son just finished his freshman year at UNL and did not have a car. He lived on campus and on occasion he would ride with other students to Walmart to pick up some necessities, but other than that he was able to function just fine. Since the UNL campus is right downtown there is plenty to do within walking distance. We live about 3 1/2 hours away and there were several students from his high school at UNL that he could catch a ride home with. He will be taking a car next year ~ although he does not “need” it. Good luck to your daughter at UNL!</p>
<p>I don’t have anyone there yet. But my DD and I just came back from a Big Red Days tour. They told us several times that you do not need a car on campus. Our tour guide did tell us that the bus service is not the best, but also said that she never had any problems getting to where she needed to be if it was off campus. She said that there were plenty of people with cars who were willing to drive you or you could take the bus. She also told us that your car generally ends up being parked pretty far from where you live and that it could take a bit of walk to get to it. She felt that it was not worth the hassle. Just thought I’d give you her take.</p>
<p>Good Luck to your daughter!</p>
<p>Ditto to both of the above. Though it may be quite the adjustment, since she’s used to jumping in the car and going somewhere, it’s certainly feasible. There are regular buses between city and east campus if she has classes there. Since she’s living on campus and thus has a meal plan, she won’t need to go grocery shopping much. When she DOES need to go to Walmart or wherever, I can just about guarantee that she’ll easily find someone who’s already going there, or is willing to take her. She (or you, lol) will save hundreds on a parking pass, which as already stated, probably won’t let her park right next to dorm anyway. Add in insurance costs for a car that’ll only be driven 50 miles a month, and the fact that she’s not going to be comfortable driving in snow, and I think it’s worth going without. You do get a free bus pass for StarTran (city bus system), but you’d have to spend some time figuring out the routes and schedules, which seem to be a bit complicated (I myself never used it, but then again I had a car).</p>
<p>We too do not have a student there yet, but we spent four days exploring the campus and downtown area on foot during the week of New Student Enrollment. The only place we drove to was Target, because we forgot to bring swimsuits. 
There are mainstream as well as upscale restaurants all around the downtown area near campus, and some nice places in the Haymarket are also an easy walk. There’s an “art” theatre right on campus, and a first-run theatre only three blocks off campus. (We went twice, because of the heat wave that week.) </p>
<p>I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at bus maps, but I did find that StarTran has a pretty decent website. ( [InterLinc:</a> StarTran Bus Service](<a href=“http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/index.htm]InterLinc:”>http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/index.htm) ) It doesn’t do route planning for you but I quickly saw that the Route 24 is the downtown route (near campus), and that the Route 44 bus goes right by campus, out to Target and to the Westfield Mall, which looks pretty decent ( [Westfield</a> - - All Stores](<a href=“http://www.westfield.com/gateway/ourstores/-all-stores-2040.html]Westfield”>http://www.westfield.com/gateway/ourstores/-all-stores-2040.html) ). </p>
<p>You get a bus pass as part of your student fees, and you can find information on routes on the UNL website as well as on the StarTran website. [UNL</a> | Parking & Transit Services](<a href=“http://parking.unl.edu/]UNL”>http://parking.unl.edu/)</p>
<p>Overall Lincoln bus routes:</p>
<p><a href=“http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/routemap/weekday/pdf/allroute.pdf[/url]”>http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/routemap/weekday/pdf/allroute.pdf</a></p>
<p>Weekday bus stops in the downtown area:</p>
<p>[InterLinc:</a> Weekday Downtown Bus Stops](<a href=“http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/routemap/weekday/busstops.htm]InterLinc:”>http://lincoln.ne.gov/city/pworks/startran/routemap/weekday/busstops.htm)</p>
<p>The one problem I need to solve is getting my son from the Lincoln airport to campus. Once he makes some friends at UNL I’m sure he’ll be able to find someone to pick him up, but until then I guess he’ll just have to take a cab.</p>
<p>Although I didn’t attend UNL, I lived in Lincoln for 8 years before going to grad school at Mizzou.
I can attest to the need of not needing a car at UNL. That being said, there is one caveat. If your student would be on East Campus (ag college, fashion things - you’ll know if they’d be there) a car might come in handy since they’re not really within walking distance of downtown as the main campus is. But then again, the bus system runs right past East Campus, so …</p>
<p>Comfy walking shoes, a bike (for the non-snowy months, even for the snowy months, to a point) and a healthy attitude towards walking and being outside + no car needed. Plus, it alleviates the pain of getting a parking permit and trying to find a parking spot in a lot no where near where you’d like it to be.</p>
<p>Earlier comments about getting rides from other students is usually pretty true. Between other students, the city bus system and the location near downtown, save the money and car insurance bucks and put it towards tuition. Or football tickets, if you can get them.</p>
<p>I also discovered recently that UNL has Zipcars. [University</a> of Nebraska-Lincoln – Zipcar](<a href=“http://www.zipcar.com/unl/]University”>http://www.zipcar.com/unl/) </p>
<p>The website says: You only need to be 18+ to join. Members age 18-20 can use a dedicated group of Zipcars that live on campus. Members age 21+ also have access to thousands of Zipcars all around the world.</p>
<p>Many college advice books say get by without a car, your grades will be higher. They also say live on campus, your grades will be higher. After freshman year, a parent will have a hard time stopping a student who is determine to move off campus. Also your student will certainly let you know if they need a car, so I say put it off while you can. Also no student is going to start off with a car and then say you know I don’t really need it. For a lot of us, it is the one time in life when we can walk everywhere and live without driving, take advantage of it while you can.</p>