The Commute is Getting Costly: How You Can Get to Class on a Dime

After nearly four weeks of daily gas price increases, the budget of your everyday college student is getting tight. Right now, the national average for regular unleaded gasoline is $3.76 a gallon, or the equivalent of 22 packs of Ramen Noodles! We can’t have students missing lunch, so Rasmussen College has gathered some cost efficient ways to get to class without having to dip into the grocery money.

Car Pool

It may sound like an ancient way of doing things, but hitching a ride to class with a classmate is a huge money saver. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average cost of driving a mid-size car 15,000 miles a year is around $7,500. If you're driving an SUV, the cost reaches almost $8,000 a year and these numbers don’t even include the cost of parking or suggested maintenance.

How do these numbers break down for a student? Here’s an example – if you drive 10 miles to class solo with gas averaging $4.00 a gallon, according to AAA, the monthly cost is $51. However, if you drive with two fellow classmates the cost drops to $26, and if there are three people, even lower to $17. The more classmates you take along for the ride, the more the merrier, and the more money you save.

However, you don’t necessarily need classmates to ride with. Erideshare.com is one example of a website that connects people looking to carpool. There are people carpooling everywhere from Fargo, ND to Aurora, IL.

Bike to Class

With spring fast approaching, enjoying the weather outside will be something everyone wants and plans to do. According to the City of Chicago website, the windy city has more than 177 miles of on-street bike lanes and more than 12,000 bike racks. Minneapolis was also named the 4th best biking city in the nation by the U.S. Census Bureau American Fact Finder and according to the city of Minneapolis nearly 10,000 people in the Twin Cities commute by bike.

The cost savings is big. For example, as a student if you have a 10-mile commute and spend $5 daily on parking, according to Kiplinger.com you would save $9 a day by biking to class.

Public Transportation

We’re so used to jumping in the car and heading out, but have you ever thought about hopping on the bus instead? Using public transportation is an easy way to save on commuter costs. Every city posts public transportation schedules and pick-up locations on its website, so check out the daily routes to see if there are any headed in your direction.

According to Metrotransit.org, it would cost Twin Cities students just $2.25 to take the bus or light rail during weekday rush hours. It’s even less during non-rush hours times. In Fort Myers, FL, a bus pass would cost $3.50 a day with unlimited rides, according to Rideleetran.com.

There are many ways to save, but one thing is for sure; getting to class doesn’t have to break the bank.

About the author

Naomi McDonald

Naomi McDonald is the Sr. Media Relations Manager for Rasmussen University. She is responsible for developing and growing media relations and helping to positively impact brand via content development.

Related Content

Related Content

This piece of ad content was created by Rasmussen University to support its educational programs. Rasmussen University may not prepare students for all positions featured within this content. Please visit www.rasmussen.edu/degrees for a list of programs offered. External links provided on rasmussen.edu are for reference only. Rasmussen University does not guarantee, approve, control, or specifically endorse the information or products available on websites linked to, and is not endorsed by website owners, authors and/or organizations referenced. Rasmussen University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, an institutional accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

logo-accreditation-acen logo-accreditation-ccne chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors-masters 0 Credits 90 Credits 180 Credits 48 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE Start Here MASTER'S DEGREE PURSUERS End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE End Here MASTER'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-associates-bachelors 0 Credits Start Here HIGH SCHOOL GRADS Start Here TRANSFER STUDENTS 90 Credits Start Here SECOND DEGREE PURSUERS End Here ASSOCIATE'S DEGREE 180 Credits End Here BACHELOR'S DEGREE chart-credential-laddering-msn chart-credential-laddering-nursing-programs chart-credential-laddering-nursing DNP MSN RN to BSN LPN to RN Bridge Accelerated BSN Professional Nursing ADN Practical Nursing Diploma Pre-Licensure Post-Licensure icon-colored-outline-bank icon-colored-outline-certificate icon-colored-outline-circle-dollar-sign icon-colored-outline-folder-search icon-colored-outline-hand-heart icon-colored-outline-head-blocks icon-colored-outline-head-cog icon-colored-outline-head-heart icon-colored-outline-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-outline-hospital icon-colored-outline-lifelong-learning icon-colored-outline-light-bulb-analytics icon-colored-outline-location-pin icon-colored-outline-magnifying-glass icon-colored-outline-monitor-healthcare icon-colored-outline-monitor-paper-search icon-colored-outline-nurse-rays icon-colored-outline-padlock-shield icon-colored-outline-person-presenter-screen icon-colored-outline-scales ras-logo-flame ras-logo-horizontal ras-logo-stacked icon-colored-advance icon-colored-arrows-cross-curve icon-colored-briefcase-star icon-colored-build icon-colored-bulb-analytics icon-colored-certificate icon-colored-continual-development icon-colored-duo-chatbox icon-colored-folder-mortarboard icon-colored-forward-ribbon icon-colored-gears-clock icon-colored-globe-pen icon-colored-growth icon-colored-hand-bubble icon-colored-hand-stars icon-colored-hands-gear icon-colored-head-blocks icon-colored-head-cog icon-colored-health-plus-leaves icon-colored-hospital-building icon-colored-laptop-cbe-skyscraper icon-colored-laptop-checkmark icon-colored-laptop-webpage icon-colored-location-map icon-colored-location-pin icon-colored-monitor-paper-scan icon-colored-mortarboard-dollar icon-colored-national icon-colored-people-chat-bubbles icon-colored-person-cheer-star icon-colored-person-laptop-checkboxes icon-colored-person-screen-instructor icon-colored-person-whiteboard icon-colored-phone-chatbox icon-colored-police-light icon-colored-prep icon-colored-presenter icon-colored-regional icon-colored-save-time icon-colored-shirt-hat icon-colored-skyscraper icon-colored-state icon-colored-student-centered icon-colored-support icon-colored-world-experience icon-triangle-arrow-up-plant icon-triangle-calendar-pencil icon-triangle-clock-rotating-arrows icon-triangle-display-gears icon-triangle-hand-right-speech-bubble icon-triangle-laptop-coding-brackets icon-triangle-mortarboard icon-triangle-paper-ribbon icon-triangle-person-cheer-star icon-triangle-person-juggle icon-triangle-triple-people-chat-bubble icon-modality-campus icon-modality-field icon-modality-online icon-modality-residential icon-arrow icon-bank icon-camera icon-filter icon-general-chart icon-general-connect icon-general-degree icon-general-discuss icon-general-email icon-general-find icon-general-hat icon-general-heart icon-general-laptop-building icon-general-laptop icon-general-leader icon-general-map icon-general-money icon-general-paperwork icon-general-people icon-general-phone icon-general-speak-out icon-head-heart icon-info-circle icon-mail-forward icon-mglass icon-play-solid icon-quote-mark-left icon-quote-mark-right icon-scales icon-share-square-o icon-simple-chat icon-simple-desktop icon-simple-find icon-simple-hamburger icon-simple-phone icon-spinner icon-tag icon-testimonial-quotes icon-util-checkbox-white icon-util-checkbox icon-util-checked-white icon-util-checked icon-util-chevron-down icon-util-chevron-left icon-util-chevron-right icon-util-chevron-up icon-util-circle-arrow-down icon-util-circle-dot icon-util-language-switch icon-util-loading icon-util-open-window-link icon-util-pdf-link icon-util-refresh icon-util-x rebrand-arrows icon-social-facebook-colored icon-social-facebook-square-colored icon-social-facebook-square icon-social-facebook icon-social-google-plus-square icon-social-google-plus icon-social-instagram-colored icon-social-instagram icon-social-linkedin-square-colored icon-social-linkedin-square icon-social-linkedin icon-social-pinterest-p-colored icon-social-pinterest-p icon-social-twitter-colored icon-social-twitter-square icon-social-twitter icon-social-youtube-play-colored icon-social-youtube-play graduate-cap-star-coin hand-coin hand-heart nurse-stethoscope-rays card-send-smile person-yoga-pose suitcase-star