All graduate students are commuters, thus
the
Office
of Commuter Student Involvement is one of the most useful
resources on campus. For help understanding your
transportation options in the area, see the above link. For
regular updates, subscribe to the
Commuter
Listserv.
Fix Your Bike
Outdoor
Recreation located in the CRC has a fully equipped bike shop
complete with staff to show you how to fix your bike. You pay
for any replacement parts, but access to the tools and expertise
is FREE.
Register Your Bike
The
Department of Public Safety's police staff will register your
bike for
free. Just go to their headquarters
on Route 1 at Rossborough Lane. For additional information on
registering your bicycle please call them at 301-405-3555.
»
Local
bike trails at CommuterPage.com
Commuter Student Carpool Program
Student Carpool Program Participation in the student carpool program,
SMART PARK, will reduce the cost of the parking permit fee. The
amount of the reduction is determined by the number of participants
(two to four students) in the carpool. For more information, go
to the above link.
»
Commuter
Student Carpool Program
Car Rental Services
Flexcar and Zipcar car-rental services. Flexcars and Zipcars are located near Metro stations and allow you to borrow cars as needed. If you don't want to pay for gas, insurance, maintenance or car payments, but occasionally need a car, this might work for you.
Car Repairs
Repairing Your Car Are you familiar with the NPR car maintenance
show Car Talk? They have a service called the Mechan
X- Files that lists auto shops recommended by their
viewers.
Complaints about Auto Service
Have you received poor service or think your current mechanic
is ripping you off? Get some help from Graduate
Legal Aid or consult the Maryland
Attorney General Office of Consumer Protection at consumer@oag.state.md.us
or through their hotline at 410-528-8662 or 888-743-0023.
Campus Motor Vehicle Assistance
Need a
jump start, gas transports, tire inflation, or lockout? All are all free for current students, faculty, staff or visitor on the College Park campus. NOT offered on weekends. (301) 314 - 4CAR.
» Vehicle
Assistance website
Register Car, Obtain Maryland Driver's License
The
Motor
Vehicle Administration (MVA) has a full-service station in
Beltsville. It is located at 11760 Baltimore Avenue (Route 1).
Their hours are Monday-Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. for
all services and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to noon for Driver's
License Services only. 800-950-1MVA. Do your homework on their
web site before you visit the office. It's an extremely bureaucratic
system and the process of getting anything done can be a very
time-consuming.
The
Metrorail System (Metro) is the primary public transportation
provider in the DC area and Metrorail is DC's version of the New
York's Subway or London's Underground. It provides service to
the DC-area including parts of Virginia and Maryland.
Not sure how to get from point A to point B? Use
Metro's
Trip Planner.
Information on non-Metro commuter trains can be found on the
Commuter
Student Involvement pages.
»
DC
Metrorail Map
»
DC
Metrorail Map (pdf)
Shuttle
UM is the university's bus system servicing campus and the
surrounding areas. For more information, select the above link.
For those of you that live in
Graduate Hills and
Graduate Gardens use the new
Gold
Line. Frequency of service on the Gold route is 15-20
minutes depending on the time of day. It will run every 20 minutes
before 7 PM and every 15 minutes after 7 PM.
The campus is also served by numerous regional and county bus
services.
»
DC
area Metrobus service information
»
DC Metrobus Map (pdf)
»
Laurel
Connect-A-Ride
»
Montgomery
County Ride-On Bus
»
Prince
George's County The Bus
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA)
Currently the only airport serviced by Metrorail (yellow/blue lines). Takes about 1 hour 15 minutes to get there from campus by Metro.
»
Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport website
»
Metrorail
Map
Dulles International (IAD)
The airport furthest from campus that also has the most international
flights. The Washington
Flyer bus travels between the West Falls Church Metro Station
and the airport (costs $8 one-way, $14 round-trip).
» Dulles
International Airport website
» Washington
Flyer Schedule
» Metrorail
Map
Baltimore Washington International
(BWI)
The nearest airport to campus and a hub for discount flyer Southwest.
BWI
Express Metro Bus runs from the airport to the Greenbelt
Metro Station every 40 minutes and costs $3.00 (You will need
exact change). Travel time is about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
» Baltimore
Washington International Airport website
» Check
the BWI Express Bus Schedule
» Metrorail
Map