University of California - Irvine
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University of California - Irvine - Transportation - Transportation - College ProwlerCollege Prowler3.46

Transportation

Quick Stats

Best Ways to Get Around Town
  • A bike
  • Mooch off of a commuter friend
  • OCTA Buses - they are free, just bring your ID to UCItems and get it encoded
  • On foot
Best Ways to Get to the Airport
  • A cab ride to the airport costs about $15.
  • John Wayne Airport is just under 2.5 miles away from UCI, and takes approximately five minutes to get there.

Student Author OverviewWhat's This?

In general, UCI students feel that the public transportation system in and around Irvine is inadequate at best, and students are definitely best off if they bring a car with them to campus. Irvine isn’t exactly a centralized metropolis—things here are pretty spread out. Buses can sometimes take up to two hours to get to a city that would ordinarily take only 20 minutes by car. On a better note, the city of Irvine’s bus system does serve some of the school’s apartment complexes, so students without a car do have that as an option. Public transportation—albeit free with an encoded UCI ID—is not exactly the best way to go if you’ve only got time for a quick night on the town. By the time you hit your destination, it’d be time for you to be heading back!

Fortunately, at UCI, there’s a rather large student commuter population to befriend and mooch off of. There are some shuttle systems around that service the area, but relying on them to get you back and forth means putting restrictions on your own schedule. To some students, the poor public transportation is just typical of the Southern California area. In the end, most students would say that your best bet is to hitch a ride with some friends if you are all going out to paint the town! Otherwise, good luck trying to cope with the Orange County public transportation systems.

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UC Irvine Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Transportation at University of California - Irvine

baj001

Public Health '15

1.5
D+

Buses Are Inconvenient

Public transportation is not good because you have to wait an hour and 30 mins before the next one comes on week days and on weekends 2 hours which makes you want to stay in the house and be bored.

Apr 25, 2012

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Transportation at University of California - Irvine

TinCanFoilMan

Mechanical Engineering '15

3.5
B

Buses

Around UCI you have three options to travel around. Since most places are far away you will either how to use the public buses, which are inconvenient, obtain a zip card/car so you can drive anywhere you want, but that is really expensive, and lastly walking. There aren't very many places nearby that is in walking distances.

Mar 19, 2012

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Transportation at University of California - Irvine

amyvo13

Business Administration and Management '14

3.8
B+

Available, but Crowded

Shuttle takes you to school, it just gets extremely crowded on the bus at times.

Jan 04, 2012

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User rating for University of California - Irvine - Transportation is 3.5 out of 5 based on 30 user reviews.

Student Survey Poll ResultsWhat's This?

Rate the cost of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of the following transit options

Rate the convenience of long-distance transportation to travel between home and school

How convenient is the campus-provided transportation?

How necessary is it to have a car on campus?

How easy is it to get around town?

Campus ShuttleWhat's This?

UCI Shuttle Service

(949) 824-5547

7:30 a.m.–10:45 p.m.

UCI Escort by request

(949) 824-7233

Public TransitWhat's This?

Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)

(714) 560-OCTA

www.octa.net

Nearest AirportWhat's This?

John Wayne Airport

18601 Airport Way

(949) 252-5200

www.ocair.com

Nearest Passenger BusWhat's This?

Greyhound

The Greyhound Trailways Bus Terminal is in Anaheim, approximately 20 miles from campus.

(800) 231-2222

www.greyhound.com

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Most Recent Student Author View all

Name
Tracey Xuan Nguyen
Hometown
Hawthorne, CA
Major
Business Economics

College Prowler is seeking talented student authors to assist with writing and updating the College Prowler guides to their schools. This is a great opportunity for a student to gain experience and tremendous exposure, utilize new media techniques, and share advice with high school students about what life is really like at your college.

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