Month: November 2014

Have you ever wanted to know more about the Mason experience from a parent perspective? If you have questions that you’d like answered from a current Mason parent send an email to askpafc@gmu.edu to connect with another parent in the Mason community.

Members of the Mason Parent and Family Council, a group of parent volunteers, will be responding to emails sent to askpafc@gmu.edu and are excited to share their experiences with current and prospective families.

Orientation and Family Programs and Services is happy to answer any questions you have about the university via our families@gmu.edu email address, however, if you have questions best suited for parents of a current student then please send a message to askpafc@gmu.edu.

We hope this new email address will provide more opportunities to connect members of our Mason family. We look forward to hearing from you!

Kaitlin Cicchetti
Associate Director
Orientation and Family Programs and Services

November 4	Spring Registration Opens- Remind your student to visit Patriot Web
November 6	Family Webinar: Career Planning Tips for Sophomores- noon EST (https://masonfamily.gmu.edu/webinars/)
November 14	Hoopla: First Men's Basketball Game- 7pm
November 26 - 30	Thanksgiving Recess- No Classes

Parking Services wants to make sure that you and your student have all the important information you need as you begin making travel plans for Thanksgiving and Winter Break. There are a number of options that will work well for your student regardless of whether they are driving, flying, taking the bus, or riding the train.

The following options are affordable ways for your student to travel back home for Thanksgiving and Winter Break. Tickets tend to sell out, so encourage your student to book a seat early!

Buses from Mason to Regional Cities and Dulles Airport
Mason offers affordable transportation to regional cities and Dulles Airport during Thanksgiving and Winter Break. For Thanksgiving, all buses will leave on Wednesday, November 26 from Research Hall at the Fairfax Campus and return on Sunday, November 30. Cities include Richmond, Virginia Beach, Charlottesville, New York City, and many more. For a full list of destinations and to buy tickets, please visit http://shuttle.gmu.edu.

Ridesharing with Zimride (http://zimride.gmu.edu)
Ridesharing is an affordable way to travel home for breaks. Zimride is the University’s free rideshare network for students, staff, and faculty. Your student can sign up for Zimride with their Mason NetID to find others in their area to carpool with and save money on gas.

Uber
Uber is a taxi service that provides on-demand rides. The application is available for Android and iPhone. Uber is offering up to two free rides worth $20 each to new customers. Your student can simply download the app, request a ride, and use the code “MasonIdea” to get $20 off their ride. This is a great option for travel to the airport.

Other Transportation Connections

Burke Centre VRE and Amtrak: Mason’s Burke Centre VRE shuttle travels to the station and students can take a connecting Amtrak or VRE train from there.

Union Station in DC: Students can board Amtrak and Marc trains, a number of different buses like Bolt Bus, Megabus, Greyhound, and Peter Pan, and even access rental car services from Union Station in Washington DC.

Follow Us
Keep up with parking and transportation news on social media.

Twitter: @MasonShuttles and @MasonParking
Facebook: MasonParkingTransportation

If you have any questions, please email us at transpo@gmu.edu or call 703.993.2828.

Marina Budimir
Transportation Coordinator
Parking and Transportation