Longer Commutes to AUC Drive Anxiety for Students and Staff

• Reporters: Nardine Sameh & Ahmed Emad Awad
• Editor: Tia Khalil

Integrated Marketing Communication Senior Mariam Sherif wakes up one hour before the bus arrives, grabs her coffee, food and medication and rushes out the door.

When her doctor told her she had nerve damage in her hands and advised against driving, Sherif opted for the AUC bus to get to and from the New Cairo campus.

According to a study that was carried out by the U.S. government’s National Library of Medicine in 2022, commuting for a long time can cause physical health problems and inactivity. It also affects the satisfaction with work and life in general.

Ahd Alaa, a political science senior, told The Caravan that she sometimes resorts to missing the whole day before a test, skipping the first lecture, or missing a lecture to be able to study for the next day.

“My parents feel unsafe about me taking Ubers to [campus] and that is why I take the AUC bus because it is the safest transportation to the university, although it does not have the best timings that suit my schedule,” added Alaa.

Other students, like IMC senior Sarah Kandil, who also lives in Sheikh Zayed City, added that she started to suffer from eye twitches.

After driving for a total of two hours every day for the commute, her attention span began to decrease, putting her safety at risk. She felt compelled to use the bus instead.

In addition to the impact on physical health, academic performance and social life are also affected because of the long commute. Some in the community feel very tired once they return home, saying they lack the energy and focus to study and do their assignments.

Even after a night’s rest, students wake up exhausted from driving to the university and miss class, leaving them at risk of failing the course.

“I was about to drop a class last semester in Ramadan because I had six absences and I was at risk of failing the course,” said Kandil.

Other students say that they are not socializing well with their university friends or being able to maintain family obligations because of the long distances and the AUC bus schedule.

“It is more challenging for mothers, especially in our society, where women are expected to take care of their children and houses,” said Nelly El Anany, a professor in the Department of Business.

But she makes the best out of an uncomfortable situation using the commute on the bus to send work- related emails and read.

But senior lab supervisor Mohammed Anwar says that the long commute deprives him of a fulfilling family life. A resident of Haram Street, some 40 kilometers from AUC, Anwar returns home at 9pm most days and finds that there is not enough time to do anything else but prepare for the next work day.

“I only see my family while having dinner at the end of the day and spend time with them once a week during the weekend,” Anwar said.

Adjunct faculty at the Journalism and Mass Communication Department Reem Nafie, who lives in Sheikh Zayed City, explained that she starts lecturing at 2:00 p.m. and finishes at 5:00 p.m. Because she leaves at the rush hour peak, she spends more time in traffic before getting home. She is wary of when the national school system begins in October and expects traffic to become more congested.

Nafie says she suffered a spinal injury a few years ago, and one of the reasons given by her doctors was that she was sitting in the car for long hours.

“I would never leave my job because of a back issue or how much time it takes me to arrive because, at the end of the day, I am doing something I love,” Nafie added.

For some, relocating closer to the New Cairo campus is a good trade-off. Film senior Mohammed Hani Elkhatib and his family decided to move from Al Abbasia to New Cairo, a few minutes from the university, as he was suffering from the long commute every semester.

“Being able to walk for five to 10 minutes to arrive at the university makes me feel comfortable,” Elkhatib added.

“It allows me to stay at the university for as long as I want, especially since I love to do my work on campus.”