Q: Must I have a mahram with me while travelling short distance? My father has passed away and my only brother lives close to his university, and he does not come except in the weekends. This will delay many important matters of mine.

A: The saheeh Sunnah indicates that it is not permissible for a woman to travel without a mahram. This includes both long and short journeys, according to the majority of scholars. Everything that is called travelling is forbidden to a woman unless she has a mahram with her.
Al-Bukhaari (1729) and Muslim (2391) narrated that Ibn `Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "No woman should travel except with a mahram, and no man should enter upon her unless there is a mahram present." A man said: O Messenger of Allah, I want to go out with such and such an army, and my wife wants to go for Hajj. He said: "Do Hajj with her."
Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said, explaining that travel here does not refer to a particular distance:
What is meant is that everything that is called travel is forbidden to a woman without a husband or mahram, whether it is three days or two days or one day or twelve miles or anything else, because of the report of Ibn `Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him), "No woman should travel except with a mahram." This includes everything that is called travelling.
And Allah knows best. End quote.