Admittedly, Amherst’s location is a little far from major cities as it is about an hour-and-a-half drive away from Boston and an hour’s drive to Hartford. I know a ton of my friends had worries about transportation when deciding whether to come to Amherst College or not, especially because first-year students are not allowed to have cars on campus. Even for non-first-year students, having cars on campus can be difficult for out-of-state students. Fortunately, there are plenty of convenient transportation options that allow people to take day trips during short four-day weekends.
For short-distance travel, most people take the PVTA, the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority, which is a free bus system that has routes connecting the Five College campuses and their surrounding areas. The PVTA line students I know take the most often is the B43 line. This route stops by Hampshire Mall, which contains a Walmart, Target, Cinemark Movie Theater, and Marshalls; so many people take this bus line to buy essentials they can’t find at the CVS in Downtown Amherst or to see the latest Marvel movie. The B43 also goes through the UMass Amherst campus and ends at Northampton, where Smith College is located. The PVTA lines also run frequently, so deciding to go on an impromptu shopping trip to Downtown Northampton is surprisingly easy.
An alternative to taking the PVTA is using a rideshare app, which isn’t as popular since it costs money. People often use rideshare apps and services for traveling to the airport, and students use the Amherst rideshare chat to find people who are traveling around the same time so they can split the cost of the ride. Additionally, students who own cars also offer rides to students who need one in the rideshare chat for an affordable price.
However, a popular choice for getting to the airport is taking the Peter Pan bus or a similar bus service, such as Greyhound. These bus services are relatively inexpensive. Plus, they are very reliable and don’t take too much time to get to airports in Boston, Hartford, and New York. On certain breaks, such as Thanksgiving break this semester, the school offers free shuttles to airports. Though the school wasn’t able to provide these shuttles for winter break, most people chose to take bus services or split a rideshare.
The third option for medium to long-distance travel that’s not as popular as the previously mentioned options is Zipcar, a service that allows students to rent a car for a few hours or even for an entire day for a low cost. Students who are part of student organizations, such as our debate club, that need to travel for competitions often choose to travel using Zipcar, and the school usually reimburses the costs. Zipcar is a popular option for students who have their driver’s licenses and are familiar with East Coast roads.
Overall, there are a ton of options for transportation around Western Massachusetts, which encourages students to explore Amherst’s surrounding areas and all of the Five Colleges.