Commuter Tips

Posted October 3, 2024 by Erin Wood

We’re officially a month into the semester, and it feels great to be back into the swing of things. The adjustment of being back on campus the first couple of weeks can be a bit brutal, especially for commuters like me. I just live on the North Shore, but SLIS students commute in from all over the place, I have had classmates who live in New Hampshire and Rhode Island! Regardless of where you’re commuting from, you need a plan. Thankfully, Simmons has a parking garage on campus where students can park at a reduced rate.

However, some people don’t want to drive in the city and would rather have a more public-transit centered commute. Personally, I have never parked in the Simmons garage, preferring to park at a t-stop in Revere and take the train from there. As to the station you decide to park at, that depends on what works best for you! If possible, though, I would recommend not parking at an orange line stop just because there’s usually limited parking if you don’t leave early in the morning. The downside to parking and taking the t is that it does lengthen the overall commute time, for me it adds an extra half hour.

Another option is to take the commuter rail. This is perfect for commuters who don’t drive or just want to do as little of it as possible. For students who don’t have a stop near them, it still might be worth looking into where the closest one is. The good thing about taking the commuter rail is that it’s very punctual, and you won’t have to sit in that awful city traffic. However, since the commuter rail runs on a schedule you might have to wait for a while after your classes get out or take an early train in.

I would also recommend downloading the app Citymapper. Essentially, you put in your destination, and it will tell you the best ways to get where you need to be. This is best for when you are travelling within the city, so non-commuters this is for you too! It is pretty consistently up to date with closures and delays, so it tells you which t lines are best to take at that moment in time to get you where you need to be fast. This app has seriously changed my life, and it works in a ton of other cities, so I think it’s worth having even if you don’t rely on it for your commute.

At the end of the day, commuting can be intimidating. There are so many options, and how can you really know what works best for you? There’s nothing wrong with trying out a bunch of different routes and figuring out which ones you like, and which ones you don’t. In fact, I recommend it. There is no right or wrong way to get to campus as long as you get here!