Living on a limited budget as a student is definitely challenging. Your priority at this period of your life is to save in any possible situation. But some expenses cannot be avoided. Transportation costs are one of them. However, there are ways that could help you decrease your expenses on the commute. Especially, these tricks could be useful if you want to save up for something valuable or memorable like trips. And while you are away experiencing new cities and countries, you might just order an essay or a research paper and be relaxed in your journey. Below you will find some tips that could help you to get spare money from transportation.
1. Use public transport
If your school is not a walking distance from where you live, always choose public transport. Surely, it would not be as convenient as using your own car (if you have one), but it is very expensive to maintain it. Moreover, it is environmentally friendly to go by public transport since some vehicles are electricity-powered.
As a student, you might get some student discount or a monthly pass that would certainly reduce your total expenses on transportation. Just visit the websites of the transportation systems in your city and check their fares. You will see that to buy a monthly fare is generally economically advantageous than to pay for each bus trip separately.
When travelling abroad or to another city, you could also save up by using free bus services. Special shuttle buses may go from the train station to the city center. Check if there are such free buses in the city where you travel and maybe you could save a couple of bucks.
2. Conscious use of a car
Of course, there will be situations when you need or cannot use your car. Still, it is possible to reduce your expenses. First, try to take care of your car and maintain it on a regular basis. Consistency is the key here. If you do not take care of your car condition, at one point you will have to pay a huge bill for a big repair. Second, always think of your routes so that you could find alternative shorter ways to your destination and save up on gas. You could also shift the gears properly so that your car would not spend extra gas. Third, insure the car. In case of breakage, your insurance will cover some costs. Plus, you might also get a discount as a student.
3. Carpool/car sharing/taxi cabs sharing
Sharing expenses and a car with people is often a good way to save up. You may start by riding with your family members or neighbors. Thus, you also reduce the risks of catching the virus. You could also find people who travel to the same direction as you and divide costs among the passengers. You may look for some services apps or communities in social networks where people unite for shared rides. Similarly, you can rent a car for a trip and share costs with your fellow travelers.
4. Bike
This is not only free, but also a healthy and eco-friendly way to get to your institution if it is not far away from you. If you do not have a bike, consider buying a used car.
5. Online lessons
If there is a chance not to go to classes physically and attend them online – take it! Sure, we got tired of everything “online” during the quarantine (https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/human-touch-makes-it-all-bearable-during-quarantine), but we cannot neglect the fact that online classes have reduced our costs on transportation. Therefore, if you do not feel like going out for the classes, consider joining your groupmates online or switch all your courses to remote. By saving your time and money on online studying, you also get more time to learn and rest.
6. Saving on trains
If your institution is in another city, you probably will be using a train a lot. Good news for you that it is possible to get discounts there as a student as well. First, try to book tickets beforehand since in that case, they are most probably cheaper. If you are a constant customer or railway services, they could provide you with discounts or bonuses for being their loyal client.
