Wesleyan and Local Transportation: How to Get Where You Need to Go
by Griselda Solis
The first few weeks at Wesleyan are exciting and full of new adventures. For me, it was the first time being in Connecticut, or just New England in general, and everything looked so fascinating compared to Phoenix, AZ, my hometown. The roads were different, people could walk diagonally at the crosswalks and the architecture was so beautiful. However, the longer you stay on campus, the more you want to go anywhere that's not here. Ubering is always an option but depending on the day, weather, and location, the fees could really add up (Once got stuck on the outskirts of CT and Uber went up to almost $300 to get back onto campus but that’s a different story.) Here are a few tips and tricks to getting off campus and learning how to navigate public transportation on a budget.
Middletown Area Transit (MAT)
The Middletown Area Transit is limiting but can really fun and cheap to get off campus or run some errands. Here are some of the key things to know:
Bus fare is $1.75 per ride. If the route you are taking has a transfer, ask the bus driver for a free of charge transfer to make sure you can get to your destination.
Locate where you will be picking up the bus. The bus stops I have used the most are Williams St/High St and the Downtown Terminal Station located on Main St.
Note: Most bus stops do not have bus signs but just be at the stop described from the online bus schedule and wave down the bus when you see it approaching to make sure they pull to the side.
Always check the weather and plan accordingly. You don't want to get stuck waiting for the bus on a rainy day.
Plan your trip ahead of time using their online website (middletownareatransit.org).
When you get to website, go on the tap that says Bus Schedules and click on each route to look at route maps, schedules and other details. I recommend Google Mapping the area you are trying to go to, click the bus icon and see what they recommend and if you will need to transfer and then double checking online.
Here are the key places you can get to using the Middletown Transit but go to the website and figure out which route is your best option.
Using Route A: Stop and Shop Plaza which include
Marshalls
Route C: Price Chopper
Route D: K-Mart and Stop & Shop
Route E: Price Rite, Price Chopper, and Walmart,
M-Link: Meriden Rail Station, Westfield Shopping Town (Meriden Mall Weekends Only), Walmart
New Haven/Hartford Transportation
When I traveled to places further away, I would take the train from New Haven, Hartford, or even the Meriden railroad station. Disclaimer: I have had friends with cars or friends with zipcar cards to drive me to the main station for a small fee (compared to Uber), so I did not have to consider cost from Wesleyan to the station or vise versa. However, here are a couple of hacks I have learned along the way.
Hartford
PeterPan Bus is my best friend!!!: Peter Pan Bus is a super reliable,way more reliable than Greyhound, for regional travel. They also give discounts after a certain amount of purchases. Personally, I use PeterPan to go to and from NY events. However, this takes a longer time than taking the New Haven train station. But for me it works out better because Hartford is closer and I leave super early (6 am) to arrive 8am- 9am the latest to Port Authority, NY. Round trip ticket (bought with 2 week notice) is $35.
I have also used Peter Pan Bus to travel with friends to Washington, DC during Thanksgiving Break. The majority of my friends are from the West Coast and can't afford to fly back home during small breaks so we plan a couple months in advanced where we can travel regionally for cheap.
Amtrack: I personally have traveled a lot on Amtrak and have had wonderful experiences. They are faster and more comfortable than buses but can be pricey if tickets are not purchased at the perfect time! What I have done is always looking for train tickets for weeks in advance in an incognito/ private window to make sure prices are not inflated because of my frequency visiting the website and compare prices at multiple sites. My favorite sites to use to book Amtrak tickets is Wanderu. I have gone from Wesleyan to Philadelphia, PA and bac, from Chicago, IL to Wesleyan and to and back NY.
Wesleyan University Transportation Services
Wesleyan also offers several transportation services. They all range in times and the following details are subject to change so always check directly on the Wesleyan Transportation Service page.
The Ride: The ride offers students ride around campus and Main Street from Sun-Thurs 7pm-3 am on weekdays and Friday-Sat 7pm-4am
Grocery Store Shuttle (Price Chopper and Aldi’s): Every Sunday (12:30 pm-3:30 pm) and Wednesday (6:30 pm - 8:30pm), wesleyan transportation service picks students up from the front of Usdan
Winter Break/Spring Break/Summer Break Shuttle to New Haven/Bradley International: I personally have never used this service because the hours are limited and have never aligned with my flights. Also, I usually split the fare with a friend or ask someone to drive me to the airport which tends to be cheaper than using Wesleyan Services. However, this service is available and could come handy if you are traveling alone and is cheaper than getting an Uber on your own.
Travel Warning: If you have a flight arranged early in the morning or planning to go to the train station early in the morning, arrange with a friend to get dropped off because finding and Uber or a Lift early in the am can be nearly impossible and not to mention incredibly expensive.
Medical Transportation Shuttle: If there is ever a medical emergency during hours that the Ride is not functioning, Wesleyan Transportation service has a medical van that can take you to and from the hospital or to an appointment. I have only used this service to go to and from Rite Aid when I needed asthma medication and could not physically walk down myself. In addition, if there is no one available from the medical transportation shuttle or The Ride, Non-Emergency P-safe number can be called to get a ride from the hospital 24/7. I have used this service once to ride with a friend who was leaving the hospital late at night during a school break.
Dean Emergency Money for Travel
In case of a medical emergency, family emergency or family death, class deans have money allocated to help support students that might need to leave campus. The amount of money given out ranges and depends from situation to situation. In my experience, the Dean Emergency Fund has not been very transparent and can range from Dean to Dean. However, I have received money from my Dean’s fund. I was on campus early and experienced difficulty breathing but had no money to purchase asthma medication and needed help. I reach out to my Dean and made arrangements to get reimbursed for my purchases. Disclaimer: Wesleyan does a horrible job at providing money up front to students in emergency situations or through awards and usually only reimburse money. Personally, I charged my medication to my credit card and saved all my receipts to make sure I got my money back from the institution to pay off my credit car. However, not everyone has the access to credit cards and this is something to keep in mind.
Zip Car
Wesleyan University has a ZipCars available on campus for students with a license to rent by the hour. I purchased my first membership my freshman year of college at a reduced price ($15 I believe but the yearly goes up after the first year promotion to $25 a year). I personally have had a good experience using ZipCar and have not received any hidden fees. The only downside is that you have to be very punctual or have to overbook to avoid being late. Being late can result in a fee-up to $50. The first time I was late, I customer serviced my way out of it but the second time I did receive the fee for being 15 minutes late.