Is a car needed in Ithaca, specifically for an Ithaca College student? (New York: apartments)

[EndersDrift]

I visited Ithaca but it was first during the summer and second to Cornell University. I'm looking at applying to grad at Ithaca College and vaguely remember it being sorta up this little mountain road. As a student at Ithaca College would a car be absolutely essential, nice but not required, or luxurious and won't see much use.

I know Cornell had transportation around the town and shuttles to NYC as well. Does Ithaca College have similar or do the students get to use the Cornell shuttles at all?

If I go to Ithaca there's a good chance I'd be taking out substantial loans so any cost saving I can do would be essential.

Thanks,
Ender

[daydreamin71]

Hi,

These are the buses that serve Ithaca College. There are numerous stops.

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Ithaca is a small city so it is certainly possible to do without a car. But it does get cold in the winter, and the college is at the top of a hill, so you will definitely need to keep that in mind. Probably a lot of it depends on where you are living in Ithaca, relative to the college and your other stops (how close you are to the bus stops, the timing of when you will need the buses, etc). But it is definitely doable.

Adding: Many, many places in the area organize bus trips to NYC, including the local colleges. I don't know whether IC, specifically, does (I would be surprised if they don't). But if they don't you would definitely be able to find other bus trips going to NYC from the area.

[nei]

The shortline bus runs about 5 times a day from Ithaca to NYC (takes about 5 hours). Leaves a bit west of the downtown.

A bike might be nice to have if you're carless for errands, as the city is small, but you'll have to be hardy to bike in the winter.

[tchemgrrl]

I didn't have a car as an undergrad at IC. I'd get occasional rides with friends but it wasn't needed at all, since everything I needed was located on campus. However, if you're a grad student, I'm guessing you won't be spending a lot of time in the dining halls. The grocery options are not super-convenient (they require 1 transfer between the main downtown grocery stores and IC.) It's be the same situation to get to the mall--one bus to get downtown, another to get to the mall. I see lots of kids on the bus with enormous bags of things from Target, so it's done, but it is annoying. It would also depend on where you were living; there are a number of apartments in close proximity to the school that are convenient to walk, even in winter, but if you decided to live downtown the bus might be a hassle some times of day (if, say, you knew you needed to stay late for a club or project). So, a big "it depends".

I think you can probably get away with not having a car, though. It wouldn't hurt to try it for the first month or so, and then buy one when it gets cold if you find you need one. That way you'd save a few months' worth of gas money.

Oh, and Ithaca Carshare is ideal for occasional "need to go to the outlets in Waterloo for Christmas shopping" kinds of trips.

Bus options: Greyhound leaves from the downtown bus station (most easily accessed by taxi or ride from a friend from IC). Shortline leaves from Cornell and downtown (may actually be easier to get home from Cornell if loaded down with luggage). Cornell's Campus-To-Campus bus is more expensive, but has snacks and wifi and comfy seats, and the last time I checked it can be used by non-Cornell folks with some minor hoop-jumping. It only leaves from Cornell. It's been a while since I was an IC student but at the time there were no direct connections from IC to NYC, but I still went down to the city a number of times, and traveled home to CT that way.