We are pleased to announce a new feature for the Budget Game – Public Transit Mode.
In the standard game, car ownership is one of the major recurring expenses. Players who own a car must pay monthly bills such as car insurance and gasoline, and encounter additional expenses throughout the game—such as oil changes, parking tickets, and repairs for wear and tear.
However, owning a car is not part of every student’s financial reality, particularly for those still in college and working part-time. To reflect this, Public Transit Mode offers an alternative transportation option within the game.
What Changes are in Public Transit Mode
When a player is in Public Transit Mode:
- No Car-Related Bills: The monthly car payment and car insurance bills are removed.
- Public Transit Pass: The gasoline bill is replaced with a monthly public transit pass.
Events that typically involve car ownership are replaced with scenarios related to public transportation—for example, buses running late (causing delays to work), accidental spills from fellow passengers, or the need to rent a car for special trips.
Enabling Public Transit Mode
When setting up a class session, instructors can choose whether students will:
- Own a car, or
- Use public transit.
This option can be selected separately for:
- Part-Time Mode – while the player is a student with part-time work.
- Full-Time Mode – after the player graduates and works full-time.
The setting applies to the entire class to ensure a consistent experience and maintain competitive rankings.
Additional Game Changes with Public Transit Mode
Some of the game default settings also change when Public Transit Mode is selected. These can be over-ridden in the “Bills” settings by the session administrator, but are adjusted to reflect the lower total bills the student will receive without the expenses related to car ownership.
Adjusted Wages: In part-time mode, default wages decrease from $24/hour to $17/hour, reflecting the lower transportation costs of public transit compared to a car payment, gas, and insurance. The game’s difficulty remains balanced, with savings goals still set at 10% of monthly earnings.
Bill Changes: Car payment and car insurance bills are removed, while the gasoline bill is replaced with a “Public Transit Monthly Pass” (default cost: $50 in part-time mode, $150 in full-time mode).
Further Custom Scenarios
Instructors who wish to simulate situations where a student owns a car but has reduced costs—such as a vehicle gifted by parents or insurance covered by family—can set the relevant bills (Car Payment or Car Insurance) to $0. This prevents those bills from appearing, and allows for wage adjustments to better reflect realistic part-time earnings.
This customization applies to other optional bills as well. While certain expenses (such as rent, TV/Internet, groceries, and cell phone plans) are required, any other bill can be set to $0. This allows instructors to simplify the game for younger players or create greater differences in difficulty between part-time and full-time modes.
We look forward to seeing how Public Transit Mode helps make the Budget Game even more engaging and adaptable for your students.