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APARTMENT GUIDE MONDAY, APRIL 19, 2010 / THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN / KANSAN.COM
Sharing a car with a roommate can drive you crazy
BY JASON SHOLL jsholl@kansan.com
Getting around Lawrence can be a painful process, especially if you're sharing one car between several people. The borrowing of a car, or even having to be chauffeured around, can cause a lot of problems amongst roommates and friends.
David Lazar, a sophomore from Chicago, said it was frustrating always lending his car to his roommate.
"I literally find myself giving him the keys every day," Lazar said. "It's gotten to the point where he uses it more than me."
Lazar said that paying for gas had been another issue for he and his roommate.
While sharing and borrowing a car can be a difficult, there are plenty of ways to prevent a bad situation.
Brian Bakal, a sophomore from Chicago, said he and his roommates had reached an agreement on the use of his car.
"It's my car, so I have first dibs on it," Bakal said. "But I am usually very generous with lending my car to my roommates."
Bakal said they worked out a weekly schedule for who gets the car each day, as well as
a payment plan for when each person needs to put gas in it.
If problems arise, Bakal suggests that sitting down and talking rationally about specific problems is the best way to solve them.
Going to college without a car can bring extra stress as people try to figure out how to get to class or even the grocery store.
Hannah Baldinger, a sophomore from Boston, said she has found a lot of alternatives to owning a car.
"Luckily Lawrence and KU really have a terrific bus system," Baldinger said. "You don't have to walk far to be able to find a bus stop close to your home, and the best thing about it is that they run real late."
Baldinger said that students who depend on a roommate's ride should go above and beyond to show that they could take care of the car.
Lending and borrowing a car between roommates is best handled with planning, communication and compromise.
— Edited by Taylor Bern
Jerry Wang/KANSAN
Students who share a car with a roommate can experience frustration and inconvenience. To prevent difficult situations, working out a weekly schedule and be sure to plan, communicate and compromise.
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