James Cope attended his second semester at SRJC, Spring 2010. All semester he had struggled to get to school because his Ford Explorer broke down. That semester he resorted to taking the bus, and in some instances, riding his bike.

“I was pissed when my Explorer broke down, but this semester my bike and the bus have saved me some money, except sometimes I get screwed,” Cope said.

Cope had to travel on two buses to get to school. The bus stop where he started is located on the corner of Summerfield Drive and Sonoma Avenue and from there he traveled all the way to the Santa Rosa Transit Mall. Once at the transit mall he took the Santa Rosa Transit number 1. Since his bus ride took more than 40 minutes, he was usually running late to class.

When Cope had a night class, he usually rode his bike because no buses came in his time frame. “I would take the bus at night, but it’s always running late,” Cope said.

Taking the bus or riding a bike can be effective and money saving for students. If you take the bus daily instead of driving your car you can save up to $29 a week. A bike costs no money to ride and you get steady exercise.

Being in college now-a-days isn’t an easy task, especially on a tight budget. Before Cope’s Explorer broke down he really wasn’t thinking about taking the bus or riding his bike to save money. Now that Cope experienced the alternative ways of getting to school, he doesn’t know if he wants to go back to driving his car. “I might just keep riding my bike to school when I get my Explorer back. It’s saved me money,” Cope said.