One of the struggles students face is the unavailability of cheap and convenient means of transportation for traveling within and out of DeKalb.

For students, lacking a means of transportation by not owning a vehicle or because of the scarcity of an affordable public transport system takes away your independence. To go from one place to another you need a car, and if you don’t have one you need a lift or a public transportation system. Walking is good for health, but it can sometimes prove frustrating: It’s tiring and wastes a lot of your precious time.

“[There’s] a lot of problems with transportation,” said Adnaan Yar Khan, graduate mechanical engineering student. “It costs a lot to get to the city … . I wanted to go to the city to stay with my family and my cousin … it’s been a month now and I can’t go anywhere.”

If you don’t have your own ride in DeKalb, traveling anywhere outside or inside DeKalb can be problematic. Suppose you have a class in Barsema Hall and then you have a meeting at Adams Hall and have to attend another class in the Psychology Building. You’d have to walk at least 15-20 minutes from one place to another. It becomes an inconvenience, especially if you’re running low on time or traveling during the winter.

There’s also no direct way to get to Chicago, and all the available means of transportation are indirect. Getting to the Elburn train station requires a reservation and a ride on the shuttle to the station.

“Before I got a car, usually I had to take a train to Chicago,” said Viyon Kuton, graduate business administration student. “It was pretty difficult to find a ride to Elburn. If you give a means of transportation from DeKalb to Chicago … we have students who really need this means of transportation … sometimes nobody’s able to take you and so you are stuck here … and you can’t see your family.”

NIU’s Borrow a Bike program can solve your drifting in and around the university, but not if you have to buy something far away from DeKalb. The area’s transportation problems can be solved with introduction of several services: There could be more shuttle buses to Elburn accommodating more people running Thursday to Friday. NIU should install public transportation systems running from DeKalb to Chicago and vice versa.