I did buy a bus pass from the Capital Area Transportation Authority at the beginning of the semester, but I wasn’t happy about it.

What I don’t understand is why MSU can’t include these things in tuition. As a matter of fact, it could just tack the extra $120 onto my student account every semester and I would be a happy woman.

But instead, I am stuck not only trying to motivate myself to work out, but also trying to justify spending my paycheck on a campus gym membership.

Even University of Michigan students don’t have to pay these fees separately. Yes, their tuition is more expensive — about $10,000 per year — but they are not stuck writing separate checks for their fitness memberships and bus rides.

To make it even worse, Ann Arbor’s students can choose any of — get this — three bus lines. Not one, three.

Since we don’t know where most of our tuition money goes anyway, why not add the bus pass and IM membership to the bottom line? I doubt many would notice, much less put up a fight.

Now, I realize CATA is not owned by MSU, and the university is using the city’s buses on campus. But why not have our own bus system?

MSU is one of the largest universities in North America, with more than 46,000 students going to class every day.

So it seems a little unreasonable that we don’t have our own bus system. And with CATA talking about raising its fares, students’ budgets might be stretched even further next semester.

Last year, I attended the University of Missouri-Columbia, a school of about 28,000.

Even Mizzou, as it is called in Missouri, had its own bus system and I could walk across that campus in 20 minutes. I can only dream of getting to class that quickly in East Lansing.

Most of the classroom buildings were within about 15 minutes of each other, but the walk to the student recreation complex was only about 200 feet.

It was the closest building to my Missouri dorm, and it was beautiful.

Sports Illustrated On Campus said it was the best student recreation facility in the country.

It had an indoor track, a climbing wall, three pools and more treadmills than any runner could dream about.

And it also was paid for with the rest of my tuition.

Missouri’s “recreation facility fee” is $129.74 per semester for enrolled students — about $55 more than what MSU charges for a student membership. But the difference is when the fees are lumped together, I am automatically paying for those wonderful extras.

Instead of having to decide whether I will use the IM buildings enough to make a $75 gym pass worth the money, I could simply work out whenever I have time.

I wouldn’t have to budget for it at the start of each semester. I could burn off stress on the weight machines or play a game of squash anytime.

It seems pretty simple: Our gym memberships and bus passes could be put on those ever-necessary MSU ID cards, and everything would be set.

We could swipe our cards to get into the gym for a workout or show our IDs to a CATA driver to get a free ride to class.

Now, I know not everyone wants these things, and that’s reasonable. Those students should be able to request a reimbursement for the fees and have the prepaid bus and gym access taken off their IDs.

But for me and fellow penny-pinching college students who have never stepped foot in an IM building, it would be nice to have one bill with all the fees included.

That way, at least they’d be covered by a student loan.

Abby Lubbers is a State News staff writer. Reach her at lubbersa@msu.edu.