Nfld_girl Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hey all, I was wondering if having a car in Ottawa is a great idea/necessary? I was thinking about getting one and driving it to Ottawa, but then I thought it might be a waste of money if I'm not going to use it when I get there, especially since I'm tying to get a place close to the school. thanks for the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmiron84 Posted May 26, 2007 Report Share Posted May 26, 2007 Hi!! I can probably be of pretty good help for this! I did my undergrad at Ottawa U and just spent the last year of my BSc doing an Honours project at the faculty of Medicine. So here's the deal, you must know by now that Ottawa U has its main campus downtown and the faculty of medicine is out on Smyth Road (Ottawa General Hospital Campus). So you'll spend 100% of your school time on Smyth (the hospital campus)... Last I heard, a 8 month parking pass for Med buliding is roughly 800-900$... which is quite expensive. Plus, parking anywhere in Ottawa is pretty expensive. There's always alternatives... I have good labmates who park on the street, in 3 hour zones (about 5 minute walk from the building)... and you have to, of course, go switch your car of place every 3 hours or so. Honestly... The Ottawa Bus service is amazing. The med school is served by a major bus (85) which runs pretty frequently, although its very unreliable... it never comes at the times it is supposed to (it's known to be very very very bad ... that specific route)... It's also served by another bus (16) which is more of a local route. On top of that, there is a shuttle for the university... This school year, the shuttle ran every 20 minutes TO and FROM main campus. (travels on smyth road, smyth becomes main, turns on lees ave and then goes all the way up to king edward and then on main campus). The drivers are really friendly and you can request special stops (Although it is scheduled to stop only at 4 spots)... So that is an EXCELLENT alternative for travelling to/from downtown campus... I did that a LOT this past year and the shuttle is very very reliable. Quite frankly, the past four years in Ottawa... The only real time i WANTED a car was for a huge grocery load! Seriously! the buses are amazing and they run all the time. Hope this helps, if you have more questions... just email me/MSN pmiron84@hotmail.com I'd be happy to help out, as I'm very familiar with the area/how it works for Roger-Guindon Hall (Med school). Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nfld_girl Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 wow - that is really expensive for parking, I had no idea! I think I will pass on the car thanks for the information. We have a bus system in st. john's and it's pretty bad, so it's good to hear that the one in Ottawa is more reliable. I appreciate the help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Hi! I have to agree with pmiron84. A car in Ottawa will cost you LOTS, so you have to really dislike taking the bus for it to be worth it. You'll have to pay lots of $$$ for parking on campus and possibly where you live, plus everywhere else you want to go! The people I know who have cars in Ottawa always avoid downtown because of the traffic and parking rates, and that's too bad because downtown ottawa is great! I do know some people who have cars and really find them useful, even in Ottawa (I get rides from them if ever I need to! ) but personally, if I had a car, I'd sell it before moving there! The public transit system is really great (and so are the bike paths, btw!). The main times when I'd want a car is for outdoorsy stuff around Gatineau Park or elswhere, but if I don't have any car-owning friends from whom I can hitch a ride, renting a car for those occasions is way cheeper than owning one! So basically, it does depend a bit on the kind of person you are. Some people need a car no matter where they live. If you're not like that, I'd skip the purchase and try it without a car to see how it is. You can always change your mind later! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nfld_girl Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 thanks! yeah that's very true I was thinking about this as well.. but then I thought it would be good to drive to ottawa so I could load my car up with a billion things. but now I don't think it is worth it! thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 So true about it being a long drive! Not looking forward to it myself... Ah well, then we'll be in super-fun-Ottawa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EESH Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 I did my undergrad in Ottawa too, but I lived right off of the main campus so transportation was never an issue. Now that I have to take the 85 to school and back, I absolutely want a car so badly. The 85 is never there on time, and especially during bad weather, you can be standing outside for over half an hour waiting for one (true story, I gave up after 30 minutes). Will I buy a car though? Of course not; it is a very expensive undertaking afterall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nfld_girl Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 julie - where are you from?? I looked it up and the drive from NFLD would take like 27 hrs nonstop... pure insanity! eesh - yeah, the 85 sounds like every bus in St. John's. In the winter you just about freeze to death waiting for it. I was so glad when my parents moved to town so I could use the car! I am definitely going to miss being a mooch! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Wow, 27 Hrs! That's crazy! I guess you have to drive through the entire province of NS? I'm from southern NB, and the drive from here is about 12-14hrs... I guess I'll stop complaining then! I never realized the drive to NF was so long! I only went to St-John once, and the flight was like 15 minutes! Hehe... At least after that you can fly back home and never drive that stretch again for 4 years! Thank goodness for airplanes! When are you planing on moving? For the 85, it's true that it doesn't sound great... I'm hoping that when combined with the shuttle to go downtown, it'll be good enough (once you're downtown, busses are every 2 minutes ) I'm also thinking of living around Riverside... it's close to the main bus systems (so every 5 minutes, at least, a bus will take you downtown) and apparently about a 30 min. walk to the campus. I'd rather walk for 30 minutes than stand in the cold waiting for a bus! I haven't decided though, as it's hard for me give up the idea of living downtown... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biologyguy Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Hey Julie - I'm from southern NB as well - SJ area - just curious where you are from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 I'm from Moncton I guess not quite as much south, but really close! I wonder how many people in our class will be from the maritimes...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nfld_girl Posted May 27, 2007 Author Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 I think I'm gunna move around the middle of august, because I got to find furniture and stuff before class starts. sounds about right, eh? I don't know how many come from the east coast, but I heard its a nice few ppl! Haha we are slowly taking over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmiron84 Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Hey! Just a little side note! Having been at Ottawa U for 4 years of undergrad, I can tell you that you'll feel right at home! it's TOTALLY filled with east coast people. Many NB and NS... I had really good NB friends (mostly french)... but ya! I always run into east coast people! Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Julie Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 Nfld_girl : yeah, sounds about right... that's when I'm planing on moving too... It should give us the time to settle in, get out of our boxes and relax a bit before classes start pmiron84 : Yeah, I totally agree, Ottawa already feels like my 2nd home! I've lived there over summers and once during winter, and I just fell in love with the city! I'm so excited I'll get to enjoy it for 4 full years Yay for x-country skying, cycling, skating on the canal, rock climbing, great restaurants and great people! Just so long as I can find some time for all that indoors studying I'll have to do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Satsuma Posted May 27, 2007 Report Share Posted May 27, 2007 If you already have a car and so accustomed to the freedom....then you might consider keeping it. I agree with others that have said that a car isn`t "necessary" but that really depends on your lifestyle and outside interests. If I ever got rid of my car it would require me giving up my major outside interest (so that isn`t an option for me) And we need a car anyway (it is highly recommended) 3rd and 4th year. So it is only 2 extra years of expense and even if you bring your car you don`t have to use it to go to school if you want to save on the parking pass. Having a car lets me live somewhere I might not if I didn`t...and I really like where I live. It means you can get to Gatineau Park easily for great study breaks on the weekends etc... So yeah, you might not need it, but if you are already used to having a car, well you might really miss it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alui Posted May 28, 2007 Report Share Posted May 28, 2007 Parking at RGN is actually works out to $70.05 per month. I believe there is a slight increase planned for this year. There is another lot by RGN as the main lot always sells out. Its a slight walk but a little cheaper. Some students do park on Station Blvd a street close to the school but they do ticket quite frequently and enforce the time limits. If you do plan on living by the school there really isn't much close by and you will need some form of transportation to get around. There are the 2 buses and shuttle which doesn't run as frequently at night but having a car does make things more convenient. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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