TCU welcomed a record-breaking 2,560 first-year students to campus this fall, according to TCU’s Office of Admission. Due to the above-average size of the first-year class, some students question the benefits of having a car on-campus.
TCU Marketing and Communications said the university issued approximately 6,000 student parking permits for the 2021-2022 academic year, up from last year’s total of 5,500.
First-year student Brianna Bell thought that not bringing a car to campus would be “a death sentence.” After seeing TCU’s parking scarcity, however, Bell said her feelings have changed.
“I’ve been in the car with my friends when they’re struggling to find parking,” Bell said. “So now I’m really glad I didn’t bring a car so I didn’t have to worry about all of that.”
For Bell and other first-year students without a car, there are three rideshare and carsharing services available to TCU students outside of the popular Uber and Lyft options:
Zip Car
Zip Car is a carsharing service where students can reserve a car anytime for personal use. TCU currently has several Zip Cars on campus, all located at the 15-minute parking lot on North Drive in reserved parking spots.
Students can book a roundtrip car starting at $9.50/hr, or they can pay $79 for a full day. When TCU-affiliated students join Zip Car, they’ll pay a special first-year membership price of $25. The membership comes with free gas for all trips, secondary insurance and roadside assistance.
According to Zip Car’s website, students can apply online with a valid driver’s license. The website also states that most people are approved instantly and can book a trip within minutes.
For more info, visit ZipCar.com or call 866-4ZIPCAR.
ZIPZONE
ZIPZONE is an inexpensive, ridesharing transit option available to TCU students. To use ZIPZONE, download the Trinity Metro ZIPZONE mobile app onto your smartphone, add a payment method and type in your desired destination. Then, simply wait for your ZIPZONE-branded van to pick you up and zip you away.
TCU’s campus as well as the Fort Worth Zoo, medical district and south Fort Worth area lay in ZIPZONE’s “Southside” radius. See a full map here.
ZIPZONE pricing is $3 per passenger per ride with any multi-ride Trinity Metro Local Ticket. Hours of operation are Sunday-Wednesday 6-8 p.m., and Thursday-Saturday 6-12 a.m. For customer service help, call 817.215.8600.
Hitch
Hitch offers both shared and private rides to and from TCU’s campus.
After downloading the Hitch app onto a smartphone, students can purchase a ride. Pricing is varied based on the route, departure time and other factors. Students can then schedule their ride and head to the designated pickup location.
TCU’s Hitch pickup location is 2800 S. University Dr., and the campus drop-off location is the TCU Starbucks (located inside the TCU Campus Store).
Hitch rides are four-door sedans and “will allow you to store one carry-on sized luggage and one personal item per seat,” according to the company website.
To learn more about Hitch, students can visit https://about.ridehitch.com/universities/texas-christian-university.
First-year student Lux Coker said she’s never heard of these services but she said she finds them to be very appealing options.
“If I ever want to go to Target or something, yea okay, good to know,” said Coker. “I will be using that 100 percent.”
