Thursday, September 11, 2014

No car, no problem

Lack of a car won’t stop UTPA students

Note: This article originally appeared in the Sep. 11, 2014 issue of The Pan American. The Pan American was the student newspaper at my former university, The University of Texas - Pan American, where I got into writing. Ultimately, TPA was shut down as a result of a merger with neighboring university to make way for The University of Texas - Rio Grande Valley and the new student publication did not transfer anything from TPA. Here's one of my articles for them that was saved thanks to the miracle of Google Docs.

The usual amount of heavy traffic seen at UTPA suggests that most college students drive.
However, according to a 2012 study by the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute, the percentage of teenage drivers has dropped in recent years.
The study states that in 2008, 75 percent of 19-year-olds had a driver’s license, but the number decreased by five percent in 2010. UTPA sophomore Rogelio Mar falls into that age group and explained he hasn’t had a reason to get a license.
“I just never imagined myself with a car. When I turned 18 and started living on campus I thought, ‘Do I really need (a car)?’” the physics major said. "The way I live, I can just walk wherever I go, whether it’s to campus or a nearby restaurant to eat and not worry about groceries since my apartment comes with a meal plan.”
The research collected driver's license records and general population data from the Federal Highway Administration and the U.S. Census Bureau to complete the study. Currently, six in 10 Americans ages 17-19 have a driver’s license. Thirty years ago, the numbers were closer to eight in 10.
PERSONAL TRANSPORTATION
Graduate student Lorena Garcia Ramon uses her bicycle for transportation. She has a Mexican driver’s license and can’t use it unless she’s driving a car with Mexican license plates, according to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. However, she doesn’t see getting either a Texas-issued license or a car as a priority since she lives within minutes of campus.
“I live in Schunior Village and I work on campus,” the 25-year-old graduate student said. “Walking or cycling to work or to Wal-Mart for groceries can take as much as 11 minutes. It’s all about being resourceful. Besides, I think it's great for me to not have a car anyway. If I did have one, I’d have no self-control and just want to drive anywhere, like an itch. I’d be spending more money.”
Ramon, who works as a graduate assistant at the UTPA Office of Graduate Studies, sees her boyfriend spending at least $60 per week on gas. She estimates that she saves at least $240 per month by not having a vehicle, not including insurance or maintenance.
She thinks public transportation is one factor causing a decrease in drivers. According to the American Public Transportation Association, Americans took nearly 11 billion trips on public transportation, the highest ridership number in nearly six decades. Ramon pointed out that McAllen’s Metro Connect not only offers discounts to students, but introduced several new service routes last year. Among them was one that connects UTPA to McAllen, making it easier for her to use the transportation system.
Since all of her classes are at the UTPA McAllen Teaching Site, located 13 miles from campus at 1800 S. Main Street, Ramon rides the shuttle from school and back home. She doesn’t rely on a car and recommends other students to do the same.
“You don’t have to be stuck just because you don’t have a car,” she said. “Try to be resourceful. Get a bicycle and ride, you’re exercising that way and it’s free.”
INDEPENDENCE
Ironically, the lack of access to the Metro Connect is the reason that Alton resident Joey Garza needs his car. The psychology graduate student lives approximately 25 minutes from campus, but neither Alton nor the neighboring city of Palmhurst has any form of public transportation. According to Garza, even if he could use the public transportation system that would mean he’d have to be driven either to campus or to McAllen.
“It’s the [Rio Grande] Valley, everyone needs a car to get around,” the 25-year-old explained. “There’s little here but everything’s so far apart that it’s hard to move without a car. It really comes in handy in helping you plan your day.”
According to Garza, he spends as much as $460 per month on gas, insurance and maintenance for his 2011 Nissan Sentra, but he believes it’s worth it to avoid what he’d have to repeatedly do in high school.
“(As a teen) If I ever needed to go somewhere, the movies, a friend’s house, I’d have to be dropped off at my aunt’s house so that she could drive since my parents were usually busy,” the financial aid assistant said. “A car is an extension of yourself that can give you more options and freedom. There’s a lot of responsibilities that come with it, but a car is the ultimate sign of being independent since you don’t have to rely on others.”
Despite being enamored with the idea of driving when she first received her license a decade ago, UTPA student Yarely Rodriguez no longer sees it as something that adds value. As a resident of the apartment complex Bronc Village, she uses Metro Connect to get around the city.
“As soon as I first got my license, I felt as if a whole new world was opening for me. I could literally drive anywhere,” the 26-year-old English student said. “Now, that excitement is gone. I’m over driving and anything car-related, like pumping gas or spending money on maintenance, (it) feels tiresome. Not having a car is more convenient.”
The Edinburg native previously owned a car, but sold it after moving to campus in fall 2013 because she didn’t feel that there would be a need for it. Her main motivation for selling the car came when she decided to ride a Metro Connect bus one day “for fun.” She had noticed several families and elderly people also using the bus and chatted with them.
“They explained to me that they don’t have a car and use [the bus] to go to their doctor’s appointments and other stuff,” she said. “I realized that there are people out there with no car and rely on public transportation to get around all the time. I thought to myself, ‘If they can do it, then so can I.’”
Rodriguez plans several of her trips along the bus routes, and if necessary, she gets lifts from friends and family then pays them gas money, something she doesn’t mind.
“I know it sounds silly, but I’m proud to be able to move myself around without a car,” she said. “It just feels a part of being an adult, I’m able to make my own decisions and be responsible for my own transportation, even without a car.”

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