There are several modes of transportation for students on campus including CyRide, bikes, walking or the Help Van, but some students still find bringing a car to school beneficial. 

This, however, is not the case for everyone. Elizabeth Doebel, junior in mathematics from Davenport, Iowa, said the choice to leave her car at home was an easy one.

“The biggest thing for me was the CyRide and size of campus,” Doebel said. “Since everything is around 10 minutes away, you don’t really need a car.”

Britni Andreassen, junior in civil engineering from Cedar Falls, Iowa, also chose not to bring a car.

“If I had a car, I’d probably be more likely to go out to dinner or shopping or spend more time with people off campus,” Andreassen said. “It would definitely make my life easier, but I don’t think it is necessary.”

Andreassen and Doebel said family members and friends are willing to give rides, so getting home is not an issue.  

Devin Wilmott, freshman in open option (LAS) from Frisco, Texas, said she saw bringing a car to school as the best choice.

“I made the decision to bring my car with me because the pros outweighed the cons at the time,” Wilmott said. “I knew that Ames had CyRide, but that just wasn’t enough for me. I don’t like having to rely on others for rides.”

For students who live on campus, parking passes are easily obtained, said Mark Miller, program manager of the Department of Public Safety. Parking permits cost $131 per academic year for residence hall parking lots and $91 per academic year for Jack Trice Stadium parking lots.

According to a 2011 report by the ISU Parking Division, Iowa State ranks third in a comparison of 14 similar universities for lowest parking permit cost — nearly three times less than that of the University of Iowa.

The report also showed more than 15,000 parking permits purchased in 2011, a number Miller does not see decreasing over the next few years.

“The parking division continues to look for more parking options for students,” Miller said in light of record enrollment. “Once expansions of Frederiksen Court are finished, we will have more parking options than we did five years ago.”

Wilmott said that while having her car at school is convenient, she does not use her car as much as she thought she would initially due to it being parked far away from her dorm.

“Parking is like going to a movie theater. Everyone wants to be in the front row, but obviously not everyone can be,” Miller said. “There are certainly enough parking spaces; it’s just a matter of convenience for those who park on campus.”

The Department of Residence website advises students not to bring a car to campus. It recommends taking the CyRide or riding a bike to class.

“You have to plan more for things like going to the grocery store or going off campus, but it really just involves more organization,” Doebel said.

Miller said the Parking Division is constantly integrating new policies to make parking on campus as accessible as possible, while still being able to provide helpful student services like the Safety Escort and the Help Van.

“Parking is a self-supporting entity. We do not receive any allocations or tuition dollars,” Miller said. “Anything we have to pay for including snow removal, maintenance, safety escorts, help vans etc. comes from operating budgets which come from permit sales, fines and special events.”