I am also in grad school and am trying to make it through this semester car free. The truth is motorcycle free as I have been car free since gas prices hit $4/gal. That is when I non-op'ed my jeep and started riding my motorcycle full time.

My motorcycle had a mechanical (really and electrical... but it is in the primary electrical system); so, I stopped using it shortly after the beginning of this term and decided to make an experiment of it. It is not working well. I do not live within rideable distance, for me, of the campus (about 18mi, but the trouble is that there is several thousand feet of gain in that distance). As a result I use the bus for part of the trip.

This ties me to the bus schedules. Very simply I miss a lot of the things I should be attending. such as weekend conferences and presentations. I also miss all social contact with my classmates. To move closer to the campus would bring the rent up significantly (however, it is possible to put a dollar value on that). So, to live a motorcycle free life would cost (subtracting motorcycle costs from increase in housing costs) would have a price tag of about $250 - $300 per month.