At Cal Poly, first-year resident students can’t bring a vehicle to campus, since they’re not eligible for any campus parking permits.
So, in order to travel around campus and San Luis Obispo, first-year resident students have to look towards alternative forms of transportation, such as Zipcar, the San Luis Obispo city-wide bus, upperclassmen and clubs.
While a limited number of spaces have been reserved for first-year students with a compelling need, according to the Transportation and Parking website, but Cal Poly does not have enough parking spaces for everyone and the university wants to decrease the number of single occupancy vehicles coming to campus to stay in line with their sustainability goals.
Here is Mustang News’ guide for students looking to navigate San Luis Obispo without a car.
Zipcar
Students can rent cars from Zipcar, a service available at over 500 universities across North America, according to the Zipcar website. Students starting at 18 years old can sign up for a Zipcar membership using a valid driver’s license.
Rates for Zipcar start as low as $8.75 per hour, according to the Cal Poly website, and a membership is $25 a year. To rent for a day, it costs $72, the Zipcar website said.
In his first year, industrial technology and packaging sophomore Ethan Lane used Zipcar every once in a while and described the experience as alright but said the rates were a little pricey.
“The app was a little funky,” Lane said. “Also some of the cars were kind of just a little messed up it seemed like from the previous people when you get in the car. Like they would leave small little messes or it would have a weird smell in the car as well.”
In order to rent a Zipcar, those interested apply online through Cal Poly Zipcar and wait to be approved by the service, which checks the person’s driving record, according to the Cal Poly Transportation and Parking website. Zipcar will then activate cell phone connectivity to utilize the services.
Renters will then go to Zipcar to reserve the car for the desired time and go pick it up at the parking lot indicated, the Transportation and Parking website said. To unlock the car, renters must hold the phone to the windshield and instructions will be given on where to find the keys in the car. Renters must fill up the gas tank with the Zipcar fuel card upon returning if the tank is 25% full or below.
Industrial engineering sophomore Amritha Naidu used Zipcar to do errands and drive to hiking trails and would take as many friends as she could to divide the cost. She would use Zipcar around every two weeks, trading off every time whether she or her friend would get it.
“We wouldn’t often go to the beach with it just because of the hours we had to pay,” Naidu said.
SLO Transit
The City of San Luis Obispo has fixed bus routes that take people all around the city, according to the SLO Transit website. The bus is free with a PolyCard for students, and students can look at the bus routes and any live updates on the SLO Transit app.
Most bus lines marked with a number have an A or a B bus, which go in opposite directions on the same route. The 3 and 4 buses go to both campus and downtown, as well as the 6 Express during the Thursday Farmer’s Market.
The bus stops on campus near the Performing Arts Center and at the Kennedy Library.
City and regional planning sophomore Samantha Katz utilized the bus system to go downtown, to various grocery stores and other places around San Luis Obispo.
“It’s almost like Olympic ring style where you can take one and it will join up with another one in another place,” Katz said. “I think it is a really fun system and it is not hard to understand.”
Naidu used the bus system to go downtown or the front of town by the San Luis Obispo Veteran’s Hall, usually going on the stop at the Performing Arts Center. She said that navigating the bus system was confusing at first, but if she went with a friend that would help.
“Navigating the bus system was something that was useful for me,” Naidu said.
Upperclassmen and clubs
Katz’s advice to freshmen is to join clubs as they offer the promise of venturing off-campus and allow you to build a network of people you can message to ask for a ride.
Katz is a part of Cal Poly Sailing, a club that frequently coordinates rides to Morro Bay.
“Once you start joining clubs and talking to people, I found that a lot of second and up years who have cars are more than willing to drive you places and go do things with you as long as you ask and just pitch in for gas sometimes,” Katz said.
Naidu would ask her upperclassmen friends for rides to the grocery store, noting the more expensive prices of foods on campus.
“I bought eggs once. It was half a dozen for like almost 9 dollars so that’s when I realized I need to stick to off campus,” Naidu said.
Naidu suggested meeting friends in classes and using online communities to connect with upperclassmen.
When he did not have a car, Lane rode with friends who did have cars to go to places, including the beach.
“It was a very every once in a while special occasion to be able to go to the beach since it was so hard without a car,” Lane said.
For students looking for transportation, Zipcar, buses and relying on others will help first-time students and others who do not have a car navigate San Luis Obispo.
