The hardest part about leaving for college wasn’t abandoning my bed, or missing out on home-cooked meals or living apart from my parents.
No, it was leaving my car behind.
Since first semester freshmen are unable to have cars on campus, I knew I’d have to adjust to the lack of freedom I’d been used to having since the day I got. I’m sure many freshmen are worried about being unable to easily run out for lunch or being trapped on campus when you’re suddenly craving a certain snack.
Lucky for you, UM and the city of Miami provide excellent options for safe, convenient and affordable transportation. Below, find my favorite ways to get around Miami without my car (because nothing is going to top my car).
Metrorail
The Metrorail might seem intimidating, but its location right across from campus and affordable price make the train a valuable tool worth learning how to use.
The Miami-Dade Metrorail has two lines, orange and green, which both travel north and south. UM is located at the stop called “University.”
During the week, both lines run every 10-15 minutes. On weekends, the green line runs every 30 minutes while the orange line only runs from Earlington Heights to Miami International Airport (MIA). The train ride to the airport is frequently a quicker alternative to sitting in Miami traffic, so having easy access to the station comes in handy during high-travel times.
Other notable stops include Dadeland South, which drops you off near Dadeland Mall, and the Brickell stop.
Brightline
The Brightline, a high-speed passenger train, is relatively new and also super convenient. The nearest station is off the Metrorail stop in Brickell.
The train travels north from Miami and stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton, West Palm Beach and Orlando. While this may seem like a limited number of options, the select number of stops significantly decreases travel time. For perspective, the trip to Fort Lauderdale is approximately half an hour and the trip to Orlando only takes a little more than three hours compared to the roughly four hour drive.
Given the longer distances that you travel on the Brightline, it is a much more affordable option than Uber, and UM students receive a 25% discount on all trips when they create an account using their student email.
As an added bonus, the facilities are incredibly clean and the train is equipped with tables, seat-back trays and free wifi so you can get some work done while on the move.
Zipcar
Until I arrived at UM, I hadn’t heard of Zipcar, but it quickly became one of my favorite ways to get around.
Zipcar is essentially a car rental service, but unlike traditional car rentals, you can book a car in 30-minute increments or for an entire day. UM students are provided a discount to the subscription when they sign up with their school email. You can pick up the cars at one of two locations on campus: the Pavia garage or the Mahoney Pearson parking lot.
Using Zipcar allows you the freedom of driving a car without the responsibility of maintaining the vehicle or paying for on-campus parking.
It also gives you the luxury of being in a car with only people you know, rolling down which windows you want, blasting your music, and stopping for food on the way without having to pay for the extra stop.
Uber
Uber is a great and easy way to get to off-campus destinations. If you’re using Uber to ride to Brickell or Coconut Grove, you can easily keep costs down, especially if you and all your friends pile into one car and split the fare.
Within the Uber app, there are also multiple safety features to put you at ease. For instance, you can add contacts into the app and share your location with them. You can also require the driver to input a PIN, matching a code on your phone, into his app before he begins the ride to ensure that you are in the correct car.
You can also turn on RideCheck, a feature that sends you a notification if the driver is going off the course determined in the Uber app.