The Gown Student Newspaper at Queen's University Belfast

I am a student who had to buy my own car to get to class, because Queen's placed me in Enniskillen, Belfast, Dundonald, Antrim, Larne, Magharafelt and Ballymena.
For students doing my course, we are expected to be in class from 8.30-5 everyday- this is subject to the person teaching you on a week to week basis.
I have used translink for my transport prior to this, and i spent my summer exploring the public transport systems of western and eastern europe.
Based on my experience, translink is awful. well at least the ones serving north belfast are. Go down to city hall anyday during the week and see the inequality of the buses supplied to the different areas of belfast. If you stand awating the buses that serve route 1, you will wait for at least an hour and see at least 6 4a's arrive in that time. This is why i choose to drive, and get screwed everytime i do, but i'm far happier to drive than be treated worse than cattle on a translink bus.
Also- all the calculations considered, it is still cheaper to drive than to use translink, just as long as you arrive early and know where to park.

Hold on a second, Sarah has a valid point. As someone who travels from the West Belfast every day, a car is quicker and cheaper.

Have any of you tried to get a bus during school hours? At peak times?

Catch a grip, Queens gets paid a fortune by us and for what?

To be fleeced on a daily basis!!!!!

Actually "unknownmale" I would like to point out to you that 'Rugby Road' has the highest reported rapes in all of Northern Ireland, and this is right behind Queens so it is not the safest place. There are other streets near Queens with the most reported stabs in Belfast, so again, not safe.

I think you should check your facts before you go commenting on a topic you no nothing about.

" Lisa says:
March 9, 2010 at 8:11 pm
I have to agree with Sarah, there is a certain safety and security with having a car. If i take the bus into queens that means i have to walk back into the city centre to get the bus back, and at night this is not always the safest option. "

Is this due to the roaving gangs of lunatics that roam the streets between University Road and Great Victoria Street?

Last time I checked Belfast didn't feature on the list of "Cities most likely to be kidnapped in".

You're in a modern Western European city with street lights and police. At any time when busses are running there is a constant stream of people going up and down that road.

There is also if you notice a metro bus service that picks up... wait for it... OUTSIDE THE STUDENTS UNION WHICH IS OPEN UNTIL AT LEAST 1 AM and then DROPS YOU OUTSIDE THE BUS STATION.

And, for all those talking about the £80 a year parking that might be possible, think again. Just check the following page for how much QUB rip off their own staff for parking:

http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/EstatesDepartmen...

£240 a year. And there's a waiting list.

While I find myself in a minority, public transport is simply not an option for me. I would have to get a train and a bus to my house; both of which last run at 11pm. I'm generally in the library until at least midnnight, but would have to leave to go home at 10pm or earlier with public transport. Plus, it is definitely more expensive for me to get public transport. If I was offered some sort of incentive to leave the car at home I might bite, but at the moment it is cheaper, more comfortable and more convenient for me to drive. I also use my phone for the whole journey both ways, which allows me to do a lot of work which I would otherwise have to do on a bus/train, irritating other passengers (and before someone flames, yes, my car does have Bluetooth). As long as Translink continue to offer an overpriced, under-performing service, they'll not get a penny from me.

And do these students who supposedly bought their own car pay for their own insurance too?

If so, nice one. However I think there are much more important matters to be dealt with than parking spaces. What about more university housing for those of us who decided to leave home for Uni?

The matter is rather simple in my mind, i pay £3000 per year to attend this world renowned university. I want a facility in which i can park my car securely.
I have to now drive into university because the public transport here is so unpredictable it has made me miss or be late for my very expensive education.
Furthermore, there are many occasions, despite getting up early, that i have had to park my car wherever i can find (double yellows or not) in order to make it to my lectures and tutorials. Then when i get there i spend the entire lecture hoping that i haven't got a ticket. Is it fair for car drivers who do their best to earn their place at uni and then do their best to make it to their lectures to have the added worry of parking on their mind while trying to get their degree? And yes there are parking meters around the area, but you can't always get a space.

Charlemane and all you students saying how we car commuters should all just jump on a bus are incredibly short sighted. Not all buses come regularly, not all buses are on time and not all buses pick up from every hole in the hedge. I have a good walk to my bus stop!

Oh and just for your benefit Danny Gillen, if you just open you're little eyes you'll see that most of the student population can't afford a 'new golf or whatever' and are grateful for what they can afford. I drive a 1999 corsa, i'm grateful for it and i fund it myself. So stop being bitter about it. If you’re jealous of people with new golfs, go get a job and earn one!

This is the most middle-class debate I've ever come across. I'd rather people with cars made a bit of effort and check out the multiple other ways of getting to uni, rather than complain at the first hurdle. I'd rather my fees go towards decent and effective student resources rather than a major money-draining multi-story car park for the minority that drive to uni. If you can afford to run a car, you can afford public transport. Your legs arn't there just to work the clutch.

Please sign the petition if you are against the introduction of paid parking at Queens and feel that the university has an obligation to provide secure parking for student drivers.

http://petition.co.uk/paid_parking_qub

@John
I think you've just shown the kind of person you are. No respect for other peoples property. Great representation for a student attending Queens.

Did you have anything constructive to say about parking in and around QUB?

@Nicci
Yes I do pay rent, bills, etc. I have a student loan but that's it. I wouldn't say I'm living like a rockstar but I'm far from starving, can afford a wee drink once in a while!

Cars are expensive and so are driving lessons. Hence, I got a job when I was 17 and a car when I was 19. It's simple math:
Minimum wage x 1000+ hours work = used car

In relation to other people arguing about carparks I think you're being ridiculous. If Queen's wanted to make more spaces available they could always make a small multi-story on the new library's car park site. Something akin to the city hospital's disabled parking one.

It would be expensive but there appears to be a market for guaranteed spaces. That suggests they could make the money back and eventually profit. But this is speculation and would obviously require proper market research.

However, the major flaw would be that the aesthetics of the new library would be ruined. I believe that this is important to QUB for PR purposes. After all, that's the reason the library looks like a futuristic church isn't it?

Steve, I would love to know how you can afford to live on just your student loan. Do you eat, pay rent and bills? I find it hard to believe and would love to know how you do it.

@Steve, you make me want to start keying cars.

I ride a bike. Through the park. With a frisbee. And a picnic. And my life doesn't suck.

I don't care if they want to charge £80 for a year parking, that'd be reasonable enough. or charge a pound a day. But I'd want guaranteed spaces. I understand that this is nit necessarily easy to do but Queen's have far more resources. And with me 10k that I am paying I don't see why they can't make it easier for me to get in. If public transport is the answer then why can't they improve it? Have it as an actual viable option instead of a source of annoyance.

@ Danny Gillen
Strange that many other students, myself included, manage to survive. Maybe you should get a job if you're struggling to afford food? I found it possible to live on just my student loan without even needing a job.

@John B. Dick
That'd be John Being a Dick then?

Also you're saying that one group of people have more right to something than another. How very open minded of you.

I have no use for a park, if I feel the need to throw a frisbee the city centre wouldn't be my first choice, I'd drive my car to the beach where theres acres of land to play frisbee on. Obviously you wanting to play games and maybe have a wee picnic is more important than me parking my car within walking range of my place of education.

Wise up? Yes, maybe we should just accept it the way it is. Is that what Queens is teaching you? Maybe you should wise up, open your eyes.

Is it not strange that every other big organisation in belfast can afford to buy land and build car parks? I wouldn't care if it was a seven storey car park, or if it was underground. Did QUB not spend millions on a new sports facility recently? strange that they found the cash and land for that. Nothing against building a new facility, I'm all for development, but why not build a car park under it?

And, train stations have car-parks, to be fair.

I think that they should convert Botanic Gardens into a car park. The palm house could be a pay station and we wouldn't have to deal with people walking, enjoying themselves or playing frizbee anymore. It's horrible to think that so much space is being wasted when it could be used to park cars for people who really really like parking their cars. In fact, I propose that at next months SRC we should start a "Queen's University Car Parking Society". I'll have a fundraising party in a city-centre car-park and I'll bring cocktail sausages shaped like car-park barriers.

Or, you guys could wise up.

I wish all you people saying that public transport is the answer to the lack of parking spaces around Queens would get a grip. Before I had my car I had to rely on public transport constantly and it was always a nightmare. There were times I would reach my bus stop just to see it drive off, and then have to wait for the next unwell , which usually took between 15-20 minutes, and at other times I'd arrive on time and wait for 15 mins because the bus was late - and I live in an area where they say they are regular! So public transport is highly unreliable, and even more so in the mornings.

Queens, over the years, should have realised that more people are getting cars and relying on them more heavily for their daily commuting, and therefore planned a way to accommodate this for their students - aren't they supposed to be at the cutting edge of creative thinking?

Queens should definitely implement some form of car parking for teachers and students alike, and follow in the footsteps of UU and provide schemes like paying £80 a year for full parking privileges because it means more people would probably car share and therefore cut down on carbon emissions etc. :)

And Danny, the reason we can afford cars and the ability to run them is because not only do we know the value of money and how to save, we also juggle Work, and don't blow all our loan on going out every night and missing the classes we're paying thousands for.

What kind of student can afford there own car anyway? Some of us students can barely afford to eat and you lot are whining about parking your new golf or whatever.

Boo-hoo

If you drive diesel there's no point in getting buses when the journey will cost nearly twice as much and take twice as long too. And if people are car sharing, again that'll be cheaper even for the petrol-heads.

Quick calculation of what I spend driving up and down on the weekends from the tyrone/monaghan border suggests that I'd spend £200 a month commuting if I wanted to.

Which would actually be a lot cheaper than renting. That is, if just one more person came with and chipped in on the diesel. And, even on my own it could be worth it because I wouldn't be paying for electric or food.

I think it's narrow-minded to suggest all commuters should just start renting instead. There are always going to be good reasons why people travel. Whether that be because of the cost, the parental motivation to get some work done or any number of possible personal reasons.

That being said, I don't think queens are going to magically start sprouting car parks either. Although a scheme that rewarded the students and the staff that choose to car share could possibly lead to more spaces being available.

Personally I wouldn't travel. I hate traffic queues almost as much as I do early mornings.

To be honest, i don't know where exactly queen's would be supposed to find all this space for student parking, even if they wanted to...

If there happened to be a massive unused field right beside the Lanyon that would be one thing... but it seems like all available space is used.

The fact that staff get first priority (or sometimes exclusive access) to the carparks behind Queen's seems fair enough to me.

Likewise, in surrounding residential areas (i.e Stranmillis, Lisburn Road etc), it seems you'd have to assume there'll be limited parking because residents will be occupying those spaces. Again, this does not seem unfair.

This leaves a limited number of other spots (such as along Univ. Square) for others who are essentially visitors to the area (i.e not workers or residents) to fight over! It is a problem not only faced by students, but by people going for lunch in surrounding coffee shops, people taking their kids to the park etc etc...

The fact of the matter is, parking is a nightmare in South Belfast. Everyone knows this! I can totally see how students who are dealing with this reality on a daily basis would be very irritated, but I'm not really sure what Queen's can do about it. They can't make available what simply isn't there.

Stop whinging about it and find some real issues to get behind, like the fact that students shouldnt need to drive to classes. How about challenging the unfit housing in the area or public transport rather than complaining you have no where to park your car.

Comparing the situation at Queens to the UU is just plain stupid. The spaces are completely different. If it means so much to be able to drive to uni maybe you should transfer to UU or better still stay at home and do your degree with the open university.

If people think its unrealistic to ask students to rely on public transport. Have they prehaps considered how unrealistic it is for queens to buy enough land to accommodate the thousands of students that would require a parking space. The university is located in the middle of south belfast with some of the highest property values in the country. Not only is that kind of space simply not available in the area it's cost would be astronomical. I recognise that for a number of students that driving is thier only real choice but for vast majority public transport can accommodate quite easily. As a student from rural an area who realised that having a house in the area would be money better spent that buying a car i say this - wise up and stop your bloody whinging

I get the bus most days, with one coming every ten od fifteen minutes. The problem with these is that they don't actually run on time and I've often been 10 minutes late to class. Any time I drive in I've park about 10 minutes away andit tends to be because, like Sarah, I need to get to work after.

I honestly don't know why they can't provide parking for those of us living at home but it is also important to note that only a limited number are given spaces at Elms and even then they need to pay £80 for it.

Really do feel like Queen's need to do seomthing about those who travel because it is unfair how we are just neglected.

Buses are fine if you have nowhere to be at any particular time and don't care if you have to stand in the cold for half an hour because its late. Probably why it works so well for school kids.

For grown up people in real life that don't have the time to 'get an earlier bus' personal transport is the only option. Public transport cannot be relied upon in the city nevermind rural areas surrounding Belfast.

I'm amazed how narrow minded people can be about public transport, sure it's fine for you when you have a bus outside your door every 5 minutes. There are many areas in the city that mean walking just to get to a bus stop. Areas outside Belfast may only have a bus every hour if even that and even then its very possible your nearest bus stop is over five miles away.

To the point of the lack of parking (which you all seem to have avoided) why do Queens not provide parking for its students? My local chinese, chip shop, indian, off license, supermarket and corner shop ALL provide parking for their customers, I can take my car there anytime and know I'll get parked.

Does Queens even care? once you've paid your fees you're just a number. Queens is very quickly developing a reputation for not caring about its students, inside or outside of the lecture hall.

You people saying toget the bus, do you always eat what the government puts in your bowl? Grow a spine, sit up, question the system, maybe even develop your own opinion.

Remember, as a student every penny must count! Buses are only an option for Students outside of Belfast if the Bus Timetable fits in with your own personal timetable, and even then there's always the risk of the bus being early or late and missing class. It is also probably cheaper for Students who live in, for example, Lisburn to drive into Belfast every day than use the train as the prices at the moment are not great for a service that can sometimes be unreliable. Sometimes, it is much less stress and hassle free to simply take your car! And the lack of proper parking facilities in the QUB area simply brings the stress flooding back!

I have to agree with Sarah, there is a certain safety and security with having a car. If i take the bus into queens that means i have to walk back into the city centre to get the bus back, and at night this is not always the safest option.
After working so hard to get into uni you would think the univserity would be able to provide safe and secure parking for their students. Also it would be stupid for anyone that has paid for their car, car insurance and tax just to waste their money public transport, which is not always reliable.

To enable me to pay bills etc i have to work part time as well as attending uni, as many students have to do, and need to be there straight after uni so public transport is really not an option as i would not be able to bring all my uni stuff and my work stuff on a bus and get there on time.

There are great bus and train routes to Queen's and I have no problem getting the bus when i don't have work but i am still paying insurance, tax etc for a car - i'd like to get my moneys worth. I have 4 lectures in a row on some days so that eliminates my ability to park and pay for an hour. I would still get a ticket.

I don't feel that having a car park would encourage more students to drive, rather it would encourage students that already have to drive to car share and not have to deal with the prospect of getting up at 6am to get a space for 7am when lectures don't start until 11am. If Queen's followed the University of Ulster's example and paid £80 for a year parking and brought 3 friends - £20 each. Much better option.

Have you ever considered paying and displaying to avoid a £30 parking ticket? At £1 an hour surely it's the preferable option. As someone who drives to Queen's most days, I can say I've always been able to find a pay and display space in the university area with no problems. Yes, it's not free, but driving is a choice- if I found parking too much hassle, I would just get the bus and get on with it.

Even if people from up west do want to drive...

there are the park and ride facilities in Sprucefield.

I absolutely agree with Ryan. I've never really sympathised/empathised with students complaining about car parking around the student areas to be honest. Get the bus or the train.

At the risk of being flamed, have you considered public transport? If you live in Belfast (or just outside, ie, Carryduff) the buses are a real option. There's even one that stops just outside the front of the SU/Lanyon Building! Yes, you have to pay to get the bus, but when you take into account the student discount offered on one side, and petrol and insurance costs on the other, to me it does seem cheaper.

If you're coming from further afield, say Lisburn, Bangor, Portadown, etc. then there is always the train to Botanic.

To be honest, the only time I could think of a student needing a car for commuting to University is if they are from somewhere over an hours drive away like Downpatrick, Newry, Omagh, etc. and in that case, it'd probably be cheaper to be renting a house in the area.