The Storrs campus is undeniably gorgeous, especially at the beginning of the fall semester when the sun is shining! After a few weeks, however, campus begins to lose its appeal and many students start wishing Horsebarn Hill bore more signs of civilization. Like many freshmen, I didn’t have a car on campus. I also happened to be an out-of-state student which made me unable to bum a ride back to my hometown or beg my mom to pick me up for the weekend. By early October I was severely missing home (and by home I mean my cat), so I decided to brave a trip to New Jersey – by taking a bus.
My town is slightly more suburban than Storrs, but the thought of using public transportation to get around had never crossed my mind. Driving time, my house is about five hours away from UConn. After considering rest stops and non-direct routes, I knew I would have a long day of being on the road. Other than that, I had no idea what to expect of my journey.
The first thing I did was sit down and plan out the trip route. I looked at all the possible variations of departure times and modes of transportation (traveling by bus is usually cheaper than train tickets and can take less time). After quite a bit of time and frustration, I finally ended with a Peter Pan bus ticket. The Peter Pan bus arrives in NYC at Port Authority, where I then had plans to buy a NJ Transit ticket. I also asked a friend to pick me up at the bus station about 45 minutes away from my house, since local bus routes have many more stops and usually require switching buses to cover longer distances.Â
On the day of departure I packed my weekend bag and headed to the Co-op. I double checked that I had printed my tickets out as well as the schedules of the buses leaving NYC. I wasn’t sure where the bus would be picking me up so I asked at the Customer Service desk. The Peter Pan bus stop is located across the street from the Co-op, next to the Connecticut Commons. The bus was clean, the seats were comfy and there couldn’t have been more than ten other passengers on board.
The drive to Hartford didn’t take very long, and I had about an hour layover at Union Station. I bought some snacks and nervously kept checking and re-checking my schedule. Two buses departed from the station at the same time – a local and an express. I wasn’t sure which was which, but the drivers were very friendly and answered all my questions.
Unfortunately, we hit commuter traffic entering NYC, causing me to sit on my phone so I would stop checking the time. We arrived about 40 minutes late in Port Authority, and I realized another problem with my plan – I had no idea which terminal to go to. Port Authority is huge and I hadn’t left enough time between changing buses in case of traffic. Thankfully, there were many signs to point me in the right direction and I was able to make it to the NJ Transit booth about 15 minutes before the bus was scheduled to leave.
I bought the ticket then went to stand in line and received another unwanted surprise. This was the second-to-last bus leaving NYC for my station that night, and there was a lot more people planning on taking it than either of my two previous buses. By the time I made it to the front of the line, I had convinced myself I wasn’t going to get on the bus and would have to spend the night in NYC camped out in a cardboard box with a homeless man. Luckily, I ended up being the last person allowed to board, squeezed into the very last row and prepared myself to spend the next two-and-a-half hours playing “How little space can I take up”. There was one stop on the way and I was able to stretch out a bit.
Finally I arrived at the station in New Jersey, and after another hiccup with my friend’s GPS, I made it home seven hours after leaving campus. I surprised my mother for her birthday, and convinced her to drive me back a few days later. All in all, traveling by bus really wasn’t as bad as I expected, and I was proud that I had managed it all on my own.
Traveling alone for the first time can be scary, but a lot of stress and anxiety can be prevented by keeping calm and learning as much information about your trip beforehand. If I had missed a bus the worse thing that could have happened was having to wait a bit longer for the next bus, or possibly having to switch to a train. I felt safe and didn’t have to worry about traveling alone as a young female.  I definitely suggest taking either Peter Pan or Mega Bus to get off campus.
More information, schedules and ticket prices can be found online at http://www.peterpanbus.com/, http://us.megabus.com/and also in person at the Co-op.
If you start to feel a bit stir crazy on campus, but are looking to get into Willimantic or Mansfield, there is also the Storrs-Willimantic Bus (www.wrtd.net) that UConn students can ride for free using their UConn ID. This bus will take you to popular places like Big Y, the Eastbrook Mall and Wal-Mart.