About a week or two ago, I was downtown at one of the ASU buildings and snapped this picture of an ASU intercampus shuttle bus thinking it would come in handy. I was glad to see our friend Edward who writes about "Life at the ASU Downtown Phoenix Campus" post some really good information for students commuting between Phoenix and Tempe. Ed's post titled "Metro Light Rail on the ASU Tempe campus" looks like it gives some great tips for ASU students traveling between Tempe and Phoenix via light rail. We do believe light rail will be a tremendous benefit to the ASU community and that the potential benefits are many. The obvious point here being the commute between classes. Other benefits come into play with parking and housing. As the cost of parking increases, we might see a larger number of students utilizing the Park and Ride lots rather than pay for a pass to park on campus. The large number of homes that are along the line and that will be built (mainly) because of their proximity to the line, will be another way for students to take advantage of this new system. There are many communities along and at the ends of the line where "affordable" housing is available. Even though it is currently "unheard of" in Arizona, ASU students might be some of the first in our state to really embrace life without a car. I know, it's hard to believe but it could happen. Have you heard of Zipcar yet? Zipcar is a cool service for ASU students to "get 24/7 access to Zipcars parked right on campus! Simply reserve online, let yourself in with your Zipcard and drive. Our low hourly and daily rates include gas, insurance and reserved parking." How cool is that?
Times are a changin' and we are glad to be along for the ride. After all, "Your life is on the line!"
Light rail would be a lot better choice for students. It means lower spending on cars and fuel. – Sam