Five Things About UWM Commuting That You May Not Know

Driving to school every day can be a challenge, but The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has innovated services to ease the commuter lifestyle.

These five commodities offered by UWM can make commuting less stressful and more enjoyable. With benefits like the Prowl Line UPARK park and ride, free bus passes for Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) routes,the student commuter lounge and more, it is understandable as to why students are willing to commute to campus from home.

Commuter Impacted Residential Day Permit

The ‘Commuter Impacted Residential Day Permit’ allows commuters to park on the streets outside of UWM throughout weekdays, for free. This permit is perfect for commuting students that would like to avoid parking tickets and park close to campus free of charge.

In order to obtain a day permit, students have to go to the third district police station with a valid driver’s license and the vehicle registration for their car. Once the registration form is filled out and turned in at the police station, students can receive a day permit which allows access to parking around the UWM campus.

The Prowl Line Park and Ride

The Prowl Line park and ride is a shuttle system that runs from the UWM parking lot on Capitol and Humboldt to UWM’s Kenwood campus.

With a rate of $35.81 per semester (offered free to students who’ve paid segregated fees), the park and ride pass is cheap compared to the alternatives of risking a parking ticket on the streets or paying at least $280per semester for a parking structure permit.

Erin Buss, a senior at UWM, uses the UPARK park and ride every Tuesday and Thursday.

“It’s a great way to save money by avoiding (parking)tickets,” Buss says. “The shuttle is perfect for commuting students, especially during the winter time because it’s a shorter walk to class compared to parking on the street.”

Erin has used the park and ride for the last three years and says the only thing she would change, would be to add another running shuttle during the day to reduce the waiting time in between shuttles.

Free Bus Pass

In addition to the park and ride services offered by UWM,the university has teamed up with the Milwaukee County Transit System to offer free passes to all students who are taking at least one class at the university’s Kenwood campus. The Milwaukee County Transit System offers three express bus routes that take commuters directly to the university campus,making it easy for students who don’t want to spend money on parking or don’t have a car to drive to campus.

Freshmen Peter Mueller uses his bus pass quite frequently to get from his parents’ house to campus.

“Without the express route, it would be very hard for me to get to campus,” Peter said. “I don’t have a car and my parents work every day so it would be tough to find another way to get to my classes.”

Not only does the MCTS provide express routes for commuting students, it also provides eight local bus routes that stop on UWM’s campus, and travel throughout the city, including the downtown area. This provides students who rely on MCTS for their commute with an opportunity to travel around the city during breaks between or before and after classes.

Commuter Lounge

Aside from transportation, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee offers a lounge for commuting students. The space is meant for commuters to relax, do homework and converse with other commuting students.Located in room 120 of Bolton Hall, this space is prefect for commuters with lengthy breaks in between their classes.

UWM senior Jeremiah Krueger visits the lounge frequently in between his classes over the lunch hour.

“The commuter lounge is an amazing way to meet new people,”Jeremiah said. “For a guy like me, who doesn’t spend a whole lot of time down on campus, it’s tough to meet people. This lounge makes it easy to talk to people and make new friends.”

ZimRide

Another commodity that UWM offers to commuters is a ride-sharing network called ZimRide. This unique website allows students and faculty members to connect with others in their area to coordinate carpools to and from UWM. After entering their Panther ID, students and faculty members are able to post a ride on the website and with colleagues in their area. This website is completely free to use and can save commuters lots of money.

These five services are a must for students commuting to and from the university, making the trip to campus not only affordable but also more enjoyable.