Travelling in the Holiday Season

Everyone knows that the Christmas and Holiday season is a great time to visit many of the sites in New York City. Whether they are looking to window shop, attend holiday performances or to gaze upon the Rockefeller tree, many Fordham students find themselves in Manhattan taking a nice study and participating in the city’s wonderful holiday opportunities.


In this joyful season of giving and receiving, many people reflect on the past year and give thanks and appreciate all those who helped them have a great year. The transportation systems that help so many students experience the holiday season in Manhattan are worthy of such appreciation. When giving tours, many students refer to the three ways to get to Manhattan: the Metro North as the quickest, the subway as the fastest and the Ram Van as the safest. The subway costs $2.25 each way, whereas the Metro North varies in price depending whether the time is peak or off peak. The Ram Van, which is Fordham University’s intercampus transportation, is one of the best services available on campus.


The Ram Van costs three dollars each way and there are usually multiple Ram Vans leaving each campus leaving every half hour. For more information about the Ram Van schedule, click here. On average, Ram Van transports roughly 210,000 passengers to and from Lincoln Center per year with an average of 17,00 trips between campuses. The Ram Van shuttle from the Rose Hill campus to Lincoln Center campus (and back) travels an average of 27 miles per trip. If you multiply this by the 17,000 individual trips the Ram Van takes per year, it travels a total distance of 459,000 miles per year, which is enough to travel around the world 18.5 times. The Ram Van also offers Special Trip Service, which may be chartered by University personnel or student groups for University-sanctioned purposes. In addition, there is a super shuttle Christmas Break Airport Drop Off/Pick Up Service, which usually occurs at the beginning and ending of major breaks to assist Fordham students in arriving at their home and university in the easiest manner possible.

The Office of Intercampus Transportation at Fordham is mostly student-run; there are three full time administrations (all of whom are former Ram Van drivers) and 115 student workers, making it a great source for student employment. Fordham is the only college in the United States with a large-scale transportation system that does not outsource for its transportation needs.