Uni students and money are two things that never seem to go together. It is like trying to connect two negative ends of a magnet: as hard as you try, there’s no way that they will match together. Even worse, petrol money gives uni students nightmares and send shivers down our spines. We dread the flashing light telling us that petrol is low, and flirt dangerously with the petrol monitor. How can we save money for the things that we really would like to spend our money on, but also get to uni on time and conveniently? Car pooling is the answer! You may not think that it would make much of a difference to your bank funds, but you would be suprised as to how much money you save after a year full of sharing lifts!
Car pooling is defined as “an arrangement among a group of automobile owners by which each owner in turn drives to and from a certain destination” or, quite simply, it’s a group of friends travelling together and getting to uni, whilst having great company along the way. If you are living on res and have to travel home every weekend, why not find a buddy who lives in a similar area to travel home with? It’s a fantastic way to save money and also gives you entertainment for that long, boring drive home along the highway. It may just mean that you have to only fill your car up every few weeks rather than paying $60 or so every single week! Or perhaps you just live half an hour from uni but despise driving every day, getting up at the crack of dawn for a car park and eating away at your precious petrol. Car pooling could be the perfect solution for you as well. If you are struggling to find a compatible car pooling buddy with a similar timetable, the University is rebranding and updating their free car pooling system, so keep a close eye out in the near future! It could be a great way to make new friends outside of your course who live nearby to you.
I live an hour and a half away from uni and car pooling has made my trips far more enjoyable and makes the time fly (especially driving home on a Thursday after a sociable night at Bluestone). Save petrol. Save money. And save the earth! Car pool!
Claudia