In many places across the United States, parking is not something that is commoditized. There are often public places to park, and it is something that is provided for free by many institutions. That being said, there are certainly exceptions and situations in which parking does cost money. The University of Connecticut, unfortunately, is one of those exceptions. This is a practice that does not make sense and should not continue.
Parking services brings in a ton of money from parking passes. According to a recent Daily Campus news article, “$6 million used to fund parking services is the result of 8,020 permits bought by students, 7,307 permits purchased by staff during the 2023-2024 school year and 44,885 parking citations.” That’s an insane amount of money to bring in simply from parking, and it shows the magnitude of money involved in the parking industry on campus. The question remains: why is it that students, faculty and staff have to pay to park?
Students and staff are all people who are already either working for UConn or paying to be here. To make staff pay for parking when they are employees makes absolutely no sense. Students, on the other hand, are already paying thousands of dollars to go to the university, and they have to get here somehow. It makes sense for UConn to charge visitors to park, but to charge those who live, work and study here on a regular basis simply to have a means of transportation is unnecessary and excessive.
That all being said, this is not an argument to get rid of the permit system. It makes sense to limit those who are able to park in UConn lots, especially given the amount of people on campus and the limited number of parking spots available. However, this does not mean that UConn needs to take money from those who are issued a permit, especially not to the extent that they do. Permits cost hundreds of dollars a semester, on top of the thousands of dollars students are already paying to be here. Students already pay enough, and staff are necessary to keep this campus running, so let’s stop taking their money for something as simple as parking.
It is important to recognize that parking does bring in money for the university, and if UConn were to lose this form of revenue, it would lose the $6 million it receives per year. And while this lost revenue would have to be made up somehow, it is not something that is impossible to do, especially given the University of Connecticut’s operating and capital budget is $1.9 billion dollars according to UConn Budget, Planning and Institutional Research.
Lost revenue from making parking free would cause UConn to lose about 0.3% of their budget, though some of it could likely be maintained through the thousands of parking citations UConn Parking Services gives out each year. Either way, this is a small amount of money in the grand scheme of things, especially when the current parking system is ideologically problematic. UConn should not be forcing people who have to be here to pay money simply to park their form of transportation.
Surely most of the citation revenue is from people parking places where there permits do not apply? To get rid of the permit system would also delete that revenue. The previous Daily Campus article suggests that Parking Services revenue pays for Parking services, so we need to critically examine the revenue differences without paid permits.
Given that demand for parking is much higher than supply, especially at the more desirable lots, how would you propose the university handles the situation? Paid parking permits depress the demand a bit and make alternatives (carpooling, public transportation, etc.) more desirable. If parking is free, will permit be first-come-first-serve? We see how well that works for course registration… If they had a permit that let you park literally anywhere on campus, would you pay for it? For $500 a semester, I probably would. For $2000, I wouldn’t.
Perhaps with better transportation options, such as frequent and reliable shuttles and better bike parking, we might be able to reduce the demand for certain lots. Maybe a compromise would be to have a large, free lot far from the core of campus (W lot?) and a bus to bring people into campus (yellow line?). Once somebody is on campus, getting around is fairly easy.
In my opinion, if UConn stops charging for parking permits, they will actually just absorb the cost into the millions of other predatory fees they charge. For example, every student pays a $20 transportation fee for a UPass, whether or not they request or use one.
I think the author should reach out to the Graduate Employee Union. They have been complaining about parking for a few years. They should have some insight into the decisions that Parking Services makes.
The best way to mitigate parking issues would be to limit the number of people needing to park – offering safe, close, and available living and transportation options. The train line proposal that would go from New London to Tolland comes to mind, and having a stop near campus (perhaps in the “UConn Tech Park” Discovery Drive or “Four Corners” area) – plus the other train proposal that follows that same line east to Hartford, and through to Waterbury connecting with Metro-North.
That means that students could take the train to the UConn regional campuses in Hartford, Waterbury, and Stamford – with a bus connection at New London to Avery Point. Add in transit-oriented development (TOD) – a lot of housing, and students will be able to commute without having to rely on an individual vehicle.