Rate Increase, Parking Enforcement Purpose and Background (July 2020)
Why are parking rates changing?
Permit rate increases and resuming regular parking enforcement will help ensure Transportation Services can maintain safe parking areas, improve the transportation infrastructure for everyone through a multi-year investment plan that addresses deferred maintenance, as well as road and pathway improvements that will improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow throughout the campus, and invest in technology for more comprehensive and efficient parking on campus.
Building a better system for parking
Transportation Services is investing in improvements that will allow drivers to conduct permit transactions from their phones. We are also investing in a License Plate Recognition (LPR) system that will greatly streamline Transportation Services’ collection of rate fees and ensure that when someone is parked, they’re paying to take up that space.
Adapting to change, planning for flexible commutes
Transportation Services recently concluded an extensive planning effort and determined that campus would be better served if we prioritized investments that help people occasionally make a car-free commute. With our workforce and student body rapidly shifted to remote work and learning arrangements, Transportation Services has a unique opportunity to rapidly advance our goal of getting people to make parking choices on a daily basis. Having the appropriate technologies in place will simplify the parking and permitting process for those people who may now infrequently visit the campus.
Transportation Services is 100% self-funded and responsible for more than just parking
No state or tuition dollars, or student fees, support our infrastructure (structures, lots, roads, sidewalks, and paths) or programs. Overall, managing the campus’s extensive parking and transportation systems, and infrastructure is becoming more costly amidst an unprecedented decline in permit revenue.
Multi-year investments are progressing
We are working to improve the transportation infrastructure for everyone through a multi-year investment plan that addresses deferred maintenance, as well as road and pathway improvements that will improve pedestrian safety and traffic flow throughout the campus.
Why is Transportation Services interested in daily rates?
If you don’t bring a car to campus, you won’t pay for parking.
Paying for parking on a daily basis instead of a monthly basis provides flexibility for those who don’t bring a car to campus every day for every month of the year. This is particularly important as a large portion of our workforce will continue working remotely for the foreseeable future. As well, daily parking can be a convenient choice for those who rarely drive or are multi-modal commuters (those who switch between carpooling, biking, taking transit, etc.). Lastly, since you pay only when you park on campus, you won’t pay for parking on your sick days, vacation days.
Similarly, for students parking on campus, daily rates will allow them to easily pay for the days they park on campus, rather than pay for an entire month. We anticipate a reduction in on-campus, in-person classes, and daily parking rates offer flexibility to student drivers needing to adapt to a partially online course load and only visit campus on occasion.
The current cost for a daily permit is $12, but our plan is to bring this down significantly for UC Davis affiliates as the new technology is implemented. Recently the permit dispensers were updated to offer more short-term options