Shane EvansCommuters in America are on the move. The Transportation Research Board has released recent studies which are based on U.S. Census data showing since 1990 more Americans are working outside their county of residence and on average it now takes Americans 60 to 90 minutes to commute to their destination.
The normal morning commute which everyone is familiar with as “rush hour” normally is between the hours of 6:00am and 9:00am. However commuters are now starting a new trend by starting their journey as early as 5:00am or leaving as late as 11:00am all to avoid hitting traffic.
According to National Public Radio website, www.npr.org , Philadelphians are commuting on an average of 29.4 minutes a day and 51.4 percent drive alone and 25.2 percent take public transportation. On a list of all the cities in America Philadelphia was ranked the 16th most congested city to drive in during rush hour.
Cabrini students commuting back and forth to class have to deal with not only school work but balancing certain times when to leave so that they can avoid traffic and get to class on time. Amanda Wilkerson, junior, early childhood and elementary education major has been a commuter since her freshmen year. Living 20 minutes away she does not mind driving back and forth to school and she has learned how to get around the traffic.
Amanda Wilkerson, junior, early childhood and elementary education major said, “I usually leave 45 minutes early but I watch the news for the traffic report before I leave in the
morning just incase there’s an accident or backup.”
Sometime commuter students find it hard staying in touch with what is happening on campus. Amanda Wilkerson, junior, early childhood and elementary education major said, “Sometimes it’s hard when meetings for other groups or activities are later at night in the dorms and it’s a pain to keep going back to school. I’m involved with the C3 and Sigma Rho but the hardest part is finding time to schedule things, especially for commuters, because everyone is on campus at different times.”
Cabrini College offers a Commuter Club where Amanda is the president. This club allows commuters to stay involved with events happening on campus. Along with members of the executive board and Ashley Shoenfelt, Assistant Director of Student Activities, they plan events for the commuters. Amanda Wilkerson, junior, early childhood and elementary education major said, “We plan events for commuter students throughout the year. We have a Commuter Appreciation Day each semester as well as a few smaller events such as ice cream socials, breakfast socials. We also have an event for commuter students during freshmen orientation over the summer.”
Commuters can also hang out in Founders hall both the lobby and second floor have a lounge for the students to relax in between classes. Also, Jazzman’s Caf
