Huddled up in a gray pullover shielding the rain, College of Arts Sciences junior Noah Britton sits on the ground at the Blanford Street T stop.
‘I only take the T but it’s only convenient if it’s there when I am,’ he said.
Whether on or off campus, many Boston University students assume taking the T is the only mode of transportation available. However, many find unusual ways to get around.
Some BU students said they chose not to take the T as often because the trains can be crowded, stuffy and inconvenient especially when the train goes express to a far off location. Jordan Scott, a first-year School of Law student, said the T is always unreliable.
‘It’s a horrible system,’ Scott said. ‘It’s just not structured. It’s a fight to get on, and if one car gets stuck on the tracks, the entire line shuts down. Compared to Washington, London and New York, this system is pathetic.’
In addition, students may find themselves paying more for a T ride if the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority decides to increase the fare to $1.25 for the upcoming year.
Rather than deal with the T and its problems, many students choose to bike, rollerblade or skateboard instead.
Patrick Shannon, a sales associate at Boston Bicycle Rentals on Beacon Street said he likes to promote biking as a better way to get around.
‘Two-thirds of the country is obese, so it keeps them in shape,’ he said jokingly. ‘I think biking is a growing trend.’
Boston Bike Rentals mechanic Bud Duran added biking is ‘twice the speed of the Green Line because every 10 feet is, like, a stop.’
College of Communication sophomore Emily Torgrimson got a bike just last week and said she not only uses it to get around campus, but also likes using it to explore Boston.
‘It’s hard to keep bikes in Boston [though],’ she said. ‘My friend’s bike just got stolen a few days ago.’
Thefts are not the only issue facing bikers. Since the beginning of the school year, Duran said he has repaired four or five bikes that drunk students vandalized.
‘This guy came in [and said he] just watched his $1,200 bike get trashed by six kids,’ Duran said. ‘He couldn’t even stop them because he was afraid they’d do something to him.’
Students who do not want to deal with worrying about owning a bike can opt for rollerblades or skateboards instead.
Tyler Stubbs, a COM junior, said he skateboards because ‘it is fast, convenient and if one is any good, it is a great way to get attention.
‘The traffic in this city is horrible, and since cyclists are supposed to use the road, skateboarding on the sidewalk is the next best thing,’ Stubbs said. ‘The problem with skateboarding is it is weather-dependent.’
While the T is always nearby for most BU students moving around campus, students at other colleges and universities do not always enjoy the same luxury.
According to Massachusetts Institute of Technology freshman Adam Miller, riding a bike is the most efficient way to get around the MIT campus, but sometimes it is a hassle.
‘[MIT is] not a huge campus,’ he said. ‘But the time it takes to set up the bike and turn the lights on … is not worth it.’
University of Massachusetts at Boston junior Shaheen Mohammadipour said the abundance of transportation methods makes getting around Boston easier. He added that it is harder to get around at rural UMass-Dartmouth, the school from which he transferred.
‘There are not many fun things to do [at UMass-Dartmouth] unless you have a means to get there, which is usually far away,’ Mohammadipour said.
Therefore, many students there use shuttle buses or cars to get around campus or off of campus, he said.
In addition to all the fairly ordinary ways students chose to travel, one unique way might be an even easier way to get around the Segway.
Rebecca Faulkner, a promotional model and advertiser for Comcast Cable, said Segways are fun, but they not particularly fast or good for maneuvering through crowds of people. Employees at Comcast are given Segways to get around and do promotional work for the company.
However, few BU students are likely to use the innovations soon, considering their $5,000 to $12,000 price tags.
BU students may pay for the T, a new skateboard or pair of rollerblades, a bike or even a Segway, but one cheaper option remains walking.