Transit to NYC and Boston To Be Offered at No Charge

The Academy now offers free transportation for students to and from Boston, Connecticut and New York City during major breaks. In years past, students paid up to 50 dollars for one-way trips. The cost for medical chaperones in Health Services was also eliminated.

According to CFO David Hanson, the cost for transportation is now included in the mandatory student fees that families pay each year with tuition. This year’s mandatory fee of 750 dollars for every student also covers linen, technology and health services. Hanson said some of the advantages of the change included efficiency in processing, less cash handled on campus and privacy for students on financial aid students. “Students do not need to come up with money to purchase tickets during a busy period in the term,” he said. “Parents do not need to be concerned about ensuring students have money to purchase tickets.”

For the airport transportation, Student Center/Transportation Coordinator Daisy Jobarteh will now email students information and links to reserve bus seats.

Currently, she is using the application Eventbrite to coordinate the registration process. However, she said that the process is in “a testing period,” and if it is not the best application to use, she will adjust accordingly.

“Students do not need to come up with money to purchase tickets during a busy period in the term.”

Jobarteh noted that although there are standard times for bus departures to airports, she can make travel arrangements for students whose flights do not correspond with those times. For example, at the start of Thanksgiving break coach buses will depart campus for Logan Airport every half hour from 12:30 to 2:30 p.m.

However, some international students’ flights do not depart until 1 a.m. on Nov. 23, a day after fall term ends. As someone who has traveled internationally before, Jobarteh understands that some flights can be early in the morning and does not charge the students for the transportation. “I don’t want [students] missing out on that,” Jobarteh said. “I don’t want [them] having to pay for transportation just because [their] flight is late.”

She encourages any student who has a time conflict to email transportation so that she can arrange for either a Red Dragon or another passenger vehicle to take them to the airport free of charge. “I mean, you might as well use it,” she said.

The only time a student would have to pay for his or her own transportation is when it is not the beginning or end of a major break. Jobarteh said she can make recommendations for car services but cannot cover the cost on behalf of the Academy.

International students who had to pay for the transportation tickets in the previous years expressed their content with not having to pay the cost anymore and the convenience of the new system.

Senior Brian Choi was glad that the school is now providing free Academy shuttle services and was also pleased with the new online registration system. During previous years, students had to go to the Student Activities Office to pay for the tickets and sometimes, had to wait in long lines as the start of break approached. “Now that there is a new online registration, the process is a lot more simple and quick,” he said. “I do think that it would have been better if this whole change had been implemented much earlier, considering that many students living across the country or internationally were paying hundreds of dollars every year.”

As an international student whose flight departs late at night, lower Ursula Sze said, “My flight is usually around 1 a.m., so there weren’t shuttles late enough to take all the people flying back to Hong Kong. I’m glad that now with this new change I’ll be able to make free arrangements without having to look for other modes of transportation.”

For students who regularly attend physical therapy sessions, the elimination of the cost for a chaperone each week has been a relief. Upper Milena DeGuere has been in physical therapy for several terms. “It’s super helpful particularly for long-term PT students, like me, because those chaperone trips really added up,” she said. 

Some trips are still subsidized by the respective clubs or on-campus organizations that plan them. For example, on Sunday the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) sponsored a free trip to Boston for students who live far away of Exeter or do not have kindred visiting for Family Weekend. Students signed up on a first come, first served basis.

The trip lasted for nine hours, and students could spend their time however they liked in the city. International Student Coordinator Jennifer Smith, who chaperoned and organized the trip, described it as “a fun chance to get off campus.”

Students who took part were glad that these trips were set up for them with free transportation. Upper Olivia Lei, for example, was glad that she had the chance to get out of her dorm and spend time with other students whose parents didn’t come.

We had a great time, and I would otherwise have spent the day by myself,” Lei said. “I’m really glad OMSA sponsored this trip and do hope they continue to do this because it was the highlight of my weekend.”

Upper Pedro Sanson also had a fun time going to Faneuil Hall, Newbury Street to shop and Chinatown to eat sushi. “It was great to spend time with friends and leave Exeter for a bit,” he said.