Transportation Services Awarded 2021 Public Parking Program of the Year

The California Moblity & Parking Association (formerly California Public Parking Association) has named UC Davis Transportation Services the 2021 Public Parking Program of the Year. The award recognized Transportation Services following its rollout of a daily rate model - the first in the UC system to do so. 

Transportation Services claimed the top spot by demonstrating its programs are innovative, showing a program with features new to the California parking industry; applicable to other agencies or institutions; and effective in terms of performance, costs, use of personal equipment, and public perception. 

“This award really recognizes the hard work of all Transportation Services staff,” remarked Perry Eggleston, Executive Director of Transportation Services. “We stood out across California for adopting daily parking rates, during some of the most turbulent times our business has ever faced.” In some ways, the pandemic was an opportune time for a momentous change to parking operations, with fewer vehicles on campus to test out new technologies. 

From hosting multiple informational campus webinars to the massive expansion of web and social media presence, UC Davis Transportation Services has taken bold and decisive action to modify their entire parking system and adjust for sustainable commutes, flexible work schedules, and to make the commute program robust and adaptable to whatever abnormal events may affect future campus operations.

While the parking program is still not flawless, it has come a long way to support a long-term goal of achieving a more sustainable transportation system as outlined in a 2019 study, Transportation Tomorrow. The study offers 10 recommendations, which included “creating an integrated transportation platform” like ParkMobile and “aligning parking management” as done with daily rates, helping to avoid building more parking structures. 

“Transportation Services earned these accolades for moving UC Davis forward on better use of campus parking and getting people to think about their daily commute options,” boasted Kelly Ratliff, Vice Chancellor for Finance, Operations and Administration. “Transportation Services offers a vital service to campus and it’s heartening to see the strides they’ve made toward a more sustainable future.”