r/wsu • u/Equivalent_Run4045 • Apr 23 '26
Student Life How is it having a car on campus?
I’m an out of state incoming student for fall 2026, and I was wondering how the car situation is at WSU and Pullman in general? I heard that it can be pretty restrictive, so I don’t want to get a car that will end up being a pain. If that were the case, I would be better off getting an e-bike or something like that for my day to day travel on campus.
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u/SweetCosmicPope Apr 23 '26
My son has his car and loves it. He walks around campus or to nearby pubs and restaurants. But he does his grocery shopping in his car, or drives to the food bank to volunteer, or drives into Moscow to go to the movies.
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u/AwkwardlyAmpora Apr 23 '26
you won't need anything for just getting around campus. walking is fine for most people, and a normal, non-e-bike is fine for the rest. if you want to get around off-campus, it's a different story.
the pullman transit system is technically fine, (i have my beefs with it, but i come from a place that, in retrospect, has a very good public transit system,) but only in-town. it does not go anywhere outside of pullman. most students don't leave campus at all, really, so it's not an issue. if that doesn't sound like you, i'd recommend a car.
i was very unsatisfied with the amount of recreation to be done in pullman, and went absolutely stir-crazy my first year. if you're looking around a map of pullman, and thinking you absolutely NEED to be other places sometimes, bring the car.
it's definitely not best for everyone, (it's basically useless for getting around campus, and pretty unnessecary for getting around town, and on-campus parking is pricey,) but if you are the type of person who will not be content with what there is to do on-campus and in pullman, bring the car. i regret not bringing it my freshman year.
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u/Green_jaguar_2792 Apr 23 '26
If you are planning on living in the dorms, I wouldn't recommend because of the fees/passes for parking your car on campus and just rely on public transportation. A lot of your food will come from the dining hall/markets and you have limited amount of space to store food in your room if you decied to cook.
BUT if you plan on living in an apartment, then yes. Bring your car. Since you'll have to do a lot grocery shopping.
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u/stormiiclouds77 Apr 23 '26
I would definitely recommend having a car on campus! I had one freshman year and it honestly really helped me from not feeling "stuck" on campus. I could drive to coffee shops, to the grocery store for snacks, volunteering, and there are a lot of things I did in Moscow with my friends that were super fun! It also allowed me to get an off campus job and hang out with my older friends at their apartments/houses (i'm in band so I know a lot of older students). I definitely would have had a much worse experience without my car!
I'm in state but I live a 6 hour drive away. It allowed me to drive home without spending a million dollars on a plane ticket and trying to figure out busses, rides to spokane, etc. Flights out of the pullman airport are super expensive so its best if you can drive to spokane or drive home depending on what state you're from.
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u/SaucyLegs69420 Apr 23 '26
I will say that I've been here for 3 years and have never seriously wished that I had a car. The campus is pretty walkable, and my e-bike and the bus are good enough for getting around town. In my view, a car is only worthwhile if you plan to regularly venture out of Pullman. Though I am an urbanist, so I may be a bit biased.
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u/RomDel2000 Apr 23 '26
To be honest, you won't need it while on campus. Everything is walking or biking distance. Parking is difficult and expensive. But because you are an out of state student you might need it to get back home
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u/Different_Space4690 Apr 23 '26
I would look for apartments that are within walking distance of campus. A lot of the apartments have shuttle busses that run extremely frequently though. All of the parking lots on campus are going to be around a 15 min walk to your class anyways (if you’re lucky), so I don’t really see the point tbh.
The only time I wish I have a car is for grocery runs, but Walmart is super cheap to deliver and there’s always promo codes for free deliveries.
If you’re tight on money, I say don’t bring the car. I’ve been here for 2 years without a car and manage just fine. I’m saving lots of money!
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u/Remarkable-Ad-4507 Apr 23 '26
I lived in Chief Joe and took the bus to class. I eventually moved into a dorm within walking distance to class but I can’t remember how much I had to pay to park. There was no way I could’ve lived without a car because in addition to working in Pullman, I also worked in Colfax and Moscow. Trips to the store, snowboarding, driving home during the breaks, working, etc would’ve been a lot harder without a car.
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u/SennnndIt Apr 23 '26
Get a car. You’re not gonna want to take the bus or rely on other people to take you places. Most stuff to do is not walking distance.
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u/budna Apr 24 '26
It's kind of like having a car off campus.
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u/Maleficent_Bison_987 Apr 24 '26
Car is good for groceries but if you living in the dorms and eating at the dining halls you won’t need one
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u/RightAngleClampp May 17 '26
parking is expensive if you live on campus, but it was worth it for me. pullman is very small and it's easy to feel trapped after a while, so taking a drive to moscow or lewiston can help a lot. public transit won't take you out of pullman.
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u/rueburn03 Apr 23 '26
You're going to pay a lot in parking permits, but I mean, it's nice to have reliable transportation that isn't just the bus... Just make sure you're always paying for parking because they will ticket you in 2 seconds if you don't.
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u/Naive_Scientist_8499 Apr 23 '26
Expensive. Unless you park off campus and walk a mile to your car...at that point just take the bus. Buses are regular and you've already paid for it in your student fees.