Walking, busing, biking, driving.

Despite how popular driving to campus is, it isn’t always the most efficient mode of transportation. Before you buy a parking permit or spend countless hours looking for open ParkMobile spots, let me convince you to ride a bike up, down and all around Santa Cruz.

  1. Biking saves you time while getting to class. 
  • Most of the time I spent driving to my classes on campus was spent finding parking, then either walking or riding the bus to class.
  • When I biked to campus, I could park my bike at one of the dozens of bike racks near academic buildings, saving time and unnecessary stress.
  • Biking is cheaper than driving a car.
  1. Parking a car on campus is competitive and expensive.
  • Whether I paid for a parking permit or paid for a ParkMobile spot, the costs run up to at least $100 a month. When I was able to miraculously find a parking spot, it was rarely near the classroom I needed to go to.
  • Gas and car maintenance costs can put a strain on a student’s wallet.
  1. Biking reduces your personal carbon emissions.
  • Whether using a traditional bike or an e-bike, using a car as a main mode of transportation produces 98 percent more carbon dioxide emissions than using a bike.
  1. You can use local resources for bikers to your advantage.
  • The Bike Co-op is a student-run full service bike shop on campus. As a beginner to maintaining bikes, I replaced my tubes and my brakes with the help of the friendly volunteers at the co-op.
  • Slug Bike Life is a UCSC program that connects students to biking resources, like free helmet pop-ups on campus, and biking events throughout the school year.
  • UCSC students get a 87 percent discount for a year of BCycle, an e-bike sharing program. Scattered across the city of Santa Cruz are 72 BCycle stations with just under 500 bikes, so you can bike to and from campus and downtown with ease.
  • The Bike Church is a community-owned bikeshop located downtown next to SubRosa. They host free monthly classes about bike mechanics and events like bike rides.

MUST HAVES

Sturdy Bike Lock

U-shaped or chain-link

Make sure you wrap it around both the bike frame and the wheel like this!

Bike lights

Have one at the front to light the way at night, and one at the rear near your seat so people behind you can see you!

Helmet

Be prepared for the fall, not just the ride: keeping your head protected and safe is top priority.

TIP!

Avoid steep inclines with local Santa Cruz Metro buses (covered by our transportation fee) which have bike racks, and the UCSC Westside Bike Shuttle, which takes you and your bike from downtown straight to campus.