Park & Ride: I was stoked when I found out that the intercampus shuttle service was still running during the summer semester. This is a set of busses that take students back and forth to the four different ASU campuses. I’ve written about it here before. These aren’t big yellow school busses either. Most of them are coach-style touring busses. With reclining padded seats, air vents above each row (like an airplane), and WiFi Internet access provided by Verizon, the shuttle is a great way to get to class.

It’s Not a Moped. It’s a Scooter: Last March, my wife and I purchased two scooters from Scooter Invasion in Tempe. You may have seen my post about it last April. I have since put almost 1000 miles on mine. I just looked at my checking account to see if our gas spending has decreased since riding the scooters more regularly. (Before you freak out at the numbers, I have to add some disclaimer language: We live in Queen Creek, AZ. Also known as West New Mexico. Also known as the-middle-of-nowhere. It takes us 15 minutes to get to a grocery store, and we’re 12 miles from a freeway. My wife’s job takes her all around the valley so she drives a lot; more than the average commuter.) Here’s a breakdown our fuel spending for the past three months:

I’ll admit, it’s not always pleasant to ride with 100+ degree temperatures, but savings like this can really make it worth it. I’m looking forward to next semester when all my classes are on the Polytechnic campus. I expect these numbers to drop even lower.

—

Here are some additional resources available to the ASU community:

U-Pass | In 2005, Arizona State University teamed up with Valley Metro to offer the ASU U-Pass. The card was good for one year and allowed ASU students unlimited access to every Valley Metro bus. Faculty and staff could also obtain the U-Pass at a discounted rate.

According to the ASU Parking & Transit website, “The U-Pass program has become an enormous success, with nearly 1.5 million boardings on Valley Metro buses by ASU U-Pass users reported last fiscal year.” As the U-Pass enters its third year, holders will also be able to ride the METRO light rail for free when it begins service in December 2008.  If you have questions about getting your U-Pass, visit the ASU Commuter Options website.

To find a bus route close to you, visit ValleyMetro.org. You can figure out your trip from start to finish with their Bus Trip Planner.

If you want to stay up to date on the progress of the METRO light rail, the folks at RailLife.com have created a very informational site. Their goal is to “assist business owners, commuters, sports fans, convention goers, property owners, students, art lovers, vacationers and YOU in learning more about the areas and venues surrounding the light rail line.” They also have a blog that features video and weekly updates on construction progress, and anything else you’d ever want to know about the light rail. Here’s a link to subscribe to their RSS feed.

—

So Sun Devils, what are YOU doing to cut back? Submit your tips in the comments.

If you’re reading from outside the ASU community, let us know what you’ve been doing to cut your fuel costs. 

—

UPDATE: David Giesberg of davidgiesberg.com just enlightened me to Hypermiling. Thanks for the tip David!

I just checked out hypermiling.com. They’ve got some great tips about how to change your driving habits. I’m especially interested in the report from “step 4.” Here’s a quote and link to the research report:

Anti-Traffic was “discovered” and described by Electrical Engineer William J. Beaty in a very well written and detailed article in 1998. Check out his groundbreaking research article about negating traffic congestion waves

The methods Beaty identifies in his article are a key to hypermiling, because (1) the gasoline wasted in traffic congestion causes a tremendous nationwide cumulative effect on the demand for fossil fuels, and (2) without traffic jams, we’d all be moving along smoothly in our cars, resulting in less stops and starts, which equals less acceleration (uses gas) and less braking-induced deceleration (which wastes the motion we began when we accelerated.) And of course less time spent stopped, when your car is getting zero miles per gallon.

Keep those tips coming!

Alexa talks about that post on her blog a few days ago. Here’s a link to the post. Thanks for the mention Alexa, and I’m sorry to hear that you weren’t able to ever take advantage of it while you were in school!

I’ve been reading Educated Nation since January when I made some new friends in the college blogging scene. It’s a great site that features insightful posts about higher education. If you don’t already, you should subscribe to their feed.

Oh yeah - quit procrastinating and go rent your books for fall semester.

If you’re a procrastinator like me, you are probably not thinking much about fall semester. Especially not about the books that you are going to need for your classes. Hopefully this will help motivate you to get off your butt and save yourself some money on your books.

At the beginning of this semester, I wrote passionately about my outrageous text book costs for two of my classes. It sparked some great comments from classmates and professors, and has turned into one of Geek Stew’s most popular posts.

A week after my initial post published, the State Press ran a story about Chegg.com. (The link is to download a PDF copy of the original story.) Chegg.com is a site that allows students to rent text books at a FRACTION of the cost of purchasing. If I had known about Chegg, I could have saved about $300 this semester. Live and learn, right kids?

For your book-renting convenience, there’s a button at the top of Geek Stew that will take you to Chegg.com. I also updated their search tool in the sidebar so you can search for your books by entering in the Author/Title/ISBN number.

Oh - and to give you a warm fuzzy, Chegg.com will plant a tree for every book you rent.

Go get yer books!

Over Spring Break, my wife and I made a purchase that will help save some gas money this next semester. We got ourselves a couple of scooters from Scooter Invasion in Tempe. We got the Buddy 125cc model made by Genuine Scooters. It gets nearly 100 mpg and go 60+ mph. Perfect for getting around town. Since all my classes next semester are at the Polytechnic campus, this will be a wonderful replacement for my car.

Goodbye high gas prices…

Purchasing text books sucks. Judging by the response to last weeks’ post about my Physics + Organic Chemistry fees this semester, most students agree. Up until two days ago, I only knew of a few options to get them cheaper: Amazon.com, Half.com, or attempt to survive class without the book. There is now another option that has quickly risen to the top of my list, and I really wish I would have known about it sooner. The State Press did a story on Wednesday about the frustrating cost of text books, and what two Iowa State University students have done to solve it.

The website is Chegg.com. The concept is simple:

According to the article yesterday in the State Press, the company

…began in 2003 when the two founders, fed up with the costs of their books at Iowa State University, decided to come up with their own solution, said Aayush Phumbra, the company’s vice president and co-founder.

“I was an international student, and I got very frustrated, especially with paying so much and not being able to return the books,” he said. “We wanted to do something revolutionary.”

The company started a small-scale book resale Web site at Iowa State in 2003 and expanded into a worldwide rental company in fall 2007.

I just did a comparison to what I purchased this semester, and what I would have spent at Chegg.com. (Note: The comparison is only for textbook costs - not website subscriptions, lab supplies, or those CPS clicker thingies.)

Here’s a quick table of the savings I could have enjoyed by shopping at Chegg.com:

I think the numbers speak volumes. If you’re curious to see what you could have saved, go check it out. For those of you who read Geek Stew from the actual site, I’ve also a couple of links to my site to help you find your books.

There is now “Rent Textbooks” link at the top of the screen:

…and a Search widget in the sidebar where you can type in the ISBN/Author/Title of the book you’re looking for:

With over 2 million titles available and growing every day, I am sure that you and I will be able to find our books for next semester. With all the money we save, let’s have a party. I’ll buy the pizza.

I’m enrolled in two science classes at the Tempe Campus this semester. Now that the dust has settled and we are into the second full week of classes, I’ve got to get something off my chest. I really wanted to limit my text book spending this semester. Even though I bought fewer text books than normal, there were a few things I was required purchase for my classes that seem ridiculous. I want to know what everyone else thinks too. I’ll put a poll at the end after I’m done ranting so you can voice your opinion.

(If you received an email from me about this, feel free to skip the rant and go straight to the poll to share your opinion.)

Here’s a breakdown of my purchases for these two classes:

I can understand the text book, and the lab supplies. I’m even okay with the CPS clicker and registration fee. (It’s a hand-held remote control that allows students in large lecture halls to submit answers to questions from professors. Points can be given for students who answer the questions. It’s a good way for professors to gauge class participation in large class settings.)

But that’s were I draw the line.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am a big fan of the Internets. It certainly has improved my educational experience over the years. But I have a huge problem with having to purchase unnecessary extra services. Especially when my grade depends on whether I’ve purchased them or not.

Here is why I have a problem with this situation. Ever since I’ve been in college, instructors have always used the Blackboard interface to post assignments, homework problems, quizzes, and even exams. As much as I hate it, Blackboard has a ton of functionality. If it’s used properly, it can really be a one-stop-shop for an instructor to organize their course. Best of all, the service is FREE. (Okay, I know we probably pay for it somehow in our technology fee or parking fee or some other random tuition fee. But the point is, it doesn’t cost me extra to use.)

I don’t understand the recent trend of using Blackboard to post the syllabus and lecture notes, and then posting the homework assignments on a completely different website that costs us extra money to use. Can someone explain this to me? I’m having a hard time connecting the dots. I think that it is just as effective to assign homework from the textbook or to post it so it is accessible (for free) through Blackboard.

I want to know what everyone thinks. Cast your vote below and check back to see what others are saying.

[poll=6]