How to buy a car when you have no money

So I have decided since coming home from Kenya that I am going to need a car this summer. I will be in North Dakota for a field job doing songbird surveys in the tallgrass prairies, and that means I will be near to the middle of nowhere (again...it's what I like, after all). I'm stationed in Milnor, ND (have you ever heard of that?), and will be working in the Sheyenne National Grasslands. I have to get to Lincoln, Nebraska a few times over the summer to find a place to live during my PhD for four years. I also have to get to Winnipeg, Manitoba, which is only about 4 hours from Milnor, to pick up some stuff I left there after my Masters and visit some friends. So how should I get around?

One of my goals has always been to never own a vehicle, but I think my future circumstances are going to force me to rescind that goal. I've looked into buses for getting to/from Nebraska, they're not straightforward, and they're not fast. I've looked at flights to get to Winnipeg, $500! I even looked into Amtrak...nothing seems to go to Manitoba from Fargo that is relatively cheap and easy. And rental cars won't allow me to cross the border. How ridiculous! Canada is three hours from Fargo, how can it be so impossible to get there?!

So, I've decided that I need a car. But, I don't really have any money. So I'm trying to figure out how I can possibly get a car without any cash. I will have income very soon, and will have enough money to pay for a car, but at the moment, it's hard to get anyone to approve my credit because of high student loan debt (I think). And, my income isn't like that of a working 26-year-old should be, but it's definitely enough to pay for a lease. But how can I build credit when I can't get approved to take on a lease? There has to be a better way to find out if a person is responsible enough to take on a lease...that is the rant. Where did credit agencies even come from, why are they so important, and why are there only three? Isn't that some sort of oligopoly? Jeesh...this country can be so screwed up!