It’s that time year of year when college students start getting back into school mode. You’ve signed up for classes and purchased your textbooks, but have you thought about how you’re getting to class? Whether you own a car, take the bus or train, or hitch a ride with a friend, there are ways to cut the cost of your commute. Here are eight cost-free apps to get you to class on time and save you money.
Carpool Apps:
Carticipate – It’s not easy planning around other people’s schedules, but now you don’t have to. This great app matches your driving plans with local carpoolers going your way. All you have to do is enter where you are going and when. Carticipate is also available on Facebook, making it easier to connect with those who live, work and go to school near you.
Zimride – If you plan on driving to class anyway, why not have a passenger and earn some gas money. Zimride allows you to post rides as a driver, as well as search and book cheap rides as a passenger. User profiles also let you verify who you are riding with, so you can find people with common interests. Who knows, you might make a friend.
Carpool – School Edition – This app is specifically designed for students carpooling to school. Students can create a schedule up to a full month or edit an existing one to share with other groups. It’s also easy to form your own group with your classmates, and they don’t need an iOS® device. Just e-mail them the carpool schedule, so they can view it on their computers and print it out.
Car Pool Party – Don’t get caught behind the wheel all the time. Carpool Party is designed to make sure every member of your carpool takes turn driving. This great tool keeps track of the carpools’ history, who drove last and when it’s your turn. It’s also easy to enter new drivers and change dates manually.
Public Transportation Apps:
RouteShout – Sometimes the best way to get to class is take the bus. RouteShout makes it easy to find bus stops, routes and arrival times where you live. The software uses information from 150 different transit agencies. You can search by location or look for stops by street name and see when the next bus will get there. Users can also save their favorite stops, so they are easier to access.
StopFinder – This is another great app that helps you locate bus stops from more than 100 transit agencies. It shows you a street level map pinpointing where the stop is located. You can also get arrival times.
Gas Price Apps:
Local Gas Prices – The next time you fill up at the gas station make sure you get the lowest price. When you’re a student, every penny counts, right? Local Gas Prices shows a list of gas stations nearby and allows you to sort the list by price or location. Just tap on one of the gas stations, and it opens a map showing where your station is compared to your current location.
GasBuddy – Here’s another great resource to find the cheapest gas prices on the go. The software also encourages you to enter gas prices in your neighborhood, and earn points toward a $250 gas gift card; GasBuddy gives one away every week. The app is for the USA and Canada only.
Have you used any of these great gas price and carpool apps? What’s worked for you? We’d love to hear from you in our comments section below.
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