Ways to Get Around Campus
Going to college can be costly. Every semester, you have to pay tuition for your classes, required student fees, and textbooks that you will never use after you graduate. You also have to account for the simple necessities of life: rent, food, clothes, toiletries, and other basic supplies.
For many college students, a car is not one of those necessities. After all, it costs money to own and operate a vehicle, even if you don’t drive it very often. According to AAA, in 2016, the average cost of maintaining an average sedan was $8,558 annually. This included fuel, car insurance, maintenance, license and registration fees, tires, and depreciation. This works out to be $713 a month.
Even if you do own a car that you bring with you to campus, you might choose not to drive it every day to help cut down on some of those costs. You might decide to only drive it once a week to the grocery store or to drive back home during a school break.
You might be a student here without a car or a student who wants to limit how much you drive your car. Regardless of your car status, it is important to know other ways to get around campus at Dixie State University.
Whether you live at Vintage at Tabernacle or another Dixie Statue housing option, consider these ways to get yourself around campus and St. George.
Use the public transit system
The city of St. George has a great public transit system, known as SunTran, that is available to its residents and visitors. Serving the area since 2003, SunTran provides an inexpensive way for riders to get around the city whether they need to get to work, school, or someplace else.
SunTran has seven routes around St. George. The three routes that have stops around the campus are route #1 (Red Cliffs), route #2 (Riverside), and route #3 (West Side Connector). Buses come every 40 minutes. You can check out the schedules online.
Free for Dixie State students
We have some great news! SunTran is free to ride for Dixie State University students. Students just need to show their official student card when hopping on a SunTran bus.
This allows you, as a student, to easily and cheaply get around town. You can take the bus to go shopping or to grab a bite to eat with friends. You can also use it to get to and from a part-time job.
SunTran mobile app
SunTran now uses a free app (Ride Systems) that you can download for your IOS or Android phone. You can use the app to track a bus to see when it will arrive at your stop. You can also use it to find the closest stop to your location.
A fun fact is that the Ride Systems app was developed by Utah college students according to SunTran’s website. Besides St. George, it serves other communities and over 300 transit systems in the country
ADA compliant
In addition to being a comfortable and convenient option to get around town, all SunTran buses are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) policies. This means that their buses are wheelchair accessible.
They also provide a service, for an additional fee, to those who might not be able to get to and from the bus stop. For information, you can contact SunTran at 435-673-TRAN.
Ride a bicycle
If you own a bicycle, Dixie State University encourages you to bring it with you to campus. Biking is a great way to get around campus while burning some energy.
Whether you need to ride your bike to class, the library, or the student activity center, you will find a number of outside locations where you can chain up your bike.
In fact, Dixie State University was nationally recognized in 2021 as being a bicycle-friendly university. They were one of 38 schools across the country honored by The League of American Bicyclists. The school is continuing to look for other initiatives to build on the healthy and safe bicycle environment that already exists on campus.
It is important to keep your bike locked up. Dixie State University student housing apartment complex, Vintage at Tabernacle, has a locked and secure bike room on the property for storage. It is a safe room that is only accessible by current residents. There are bike racks in the storage room as well.
Other things with wheels
Maybe you do not have a bicycle. Instead, you might have a skateboard, rollerblades, or some other form of wheeled transportation. Use them!
In addition to bicycles, Dixie State University allows the use of scooters, skateboards, longboards, and rollerblades on campus. Just remember that they should only be used outside. When inside, these items should be carried. If needed, refer to the current Resident Life Handbook for the regulations around using and storing these items.
Take a walk
Sometimes, nothing beats a good old-fashioned stroll down the road. It is a great way to get from point A to point B while enjoying some fresh air and soaking up some sunshine.
Whether you live at Vintage at Tabernacle or other Dixie State housing, it is a short walk to most places on campus. For example, it is a half-mile walk from Vintage at Tabernacle to the student activity center. It would take you about eight minutes to walk it. The Greater Zion Stadium is a little over ¾ of a mile and would take about fifteen minutes to walk to.
Besides walking around campus, Dixie State University has several great shopping centers and restaurants all within about a mile radius.
Going Beyond Campus
While at school, you might want to travel home for the weekend, during a break, or for the holidays. Using a shuttle service allows you to travel throughout Utah and a few surrounding areas for a reduced rate.
St. George Shuttle offers routes from St. George to Las Vegas as well as several cities throughout Utah, including Orem, Ogden, and Salt Lake. They also have connections to Northern Utah cities and towns around Zion National Park. They have charging stations that provide individual USB ports in most of their vans. They also provide you with a free bottle of water.
Salt Lake Express provides routes throughout Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Utah. They also have a few stops in Western Wyoming. They provide individual outlets to keep your mobile devices charged throughout the journey. They also include a bottle of water and a complimentary blanket. Their website also states that they have plenty of storage space and legroom.
Both St. George Shuttle and Salt Lake Express have pick-up stops on campus to make it even more convenient for Dixie State students. If you’re interested, you can book on their website or give them a call.
Regardless of how you choose to get around campus, we encourage you to make the most of your time at Dixie State University. Enjoy the campus and all that it has to offer you!