Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The KU Parking Commission voted 5 to 1 to approve a recommendation to decrease the price of Park and Ride permits, The proposal would decrease the Park and Ride cost from $205 to $100 and increase the price of every other parking permit by $30, except for reserved permits and garage gold permits, which would increase by $100 and $50.
The goal of the proposal is to motivate more students to choose Park and Ride rather than parking on campus, said Donna Hultine, director of Parking and Transit.
“We want to lower the Park & Ride permit so that it becomes the cheapest option,” Hultine said. “There’s a culture here and we’re trying to shift the culture in small bites.”
If KU Provost Richard Lariviere approves the recommendation, which he should receive today, the price changes would go into effect next fall.
Hultine said that this would be the last time parking permits would be increased for a few years.
“If we can bring in at least $300,000, I’m confident we won’t have to ask for an increase anytime soon,” she said.
The Parking Department projects that the changes would increase its revenue by more than $315,000.
Hultine said the department would use $160,000 of that amount to operate two new buses on the Park and Ride route. The rest would go toward other expenses such as paying for the increasing cost of fuel and parking lot maintenance.
Kathy Reed, the only dissenting voter at the meeting, said she didn’t think the price changes were fair to faculty.
“These increases are very high for those poor folks who are just trying to make a living,” she said. “The reality of it is that we won’t utilize Park and Ride as much as you expect us to.”
Hultine said that because parking on campus is so limited, there were few other solutions to decreasing the parking congestion on campus.
“We have to come to terms with the fact that we’re not getting any new parking,” she said. “We see where the administration’s priorities are and we know that we’re most likely going to continue to lose parking.”
Tuesday’s Parking Commission meeting also included discussions about the possibility of allowing all students and faculty to have free access to all KU buses.
If the proposal passes through either Student Senate or the next student referendum on April 9, it would require a $20 to $25 increase to individual student fees. Danny Kaiser, assistant director to Parking & Transit, said the department would be willing to contribute about $1.4 million to help pay for the proposal.
“It will serve as a statement that institutionally we are willing to put down this kind of investment for students so that they aren’t paying for all of it with student fees,” he said.
Only 22.8 percent of KU students currently use bus passes, according to statistics provided by the Registrar’s office and Parking and Transit, but Hultine said she expects to see a 20 percent increase in ridership if students were given free access.
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Comments
Park & Ride recommendation could change cost of permits
Just another example of a significant leverage on campus. Again, the students are not represented by the current Senate. Thank you Kathy Reed for your lone vote against raising fees. Unfortunately it didn't occur to the senate that there are many students struggling to pay for things as well. They like to talk about increasing fees for this and that, $2 here and $30 there. We have to pay for the sharp rise in gas prices as well, commute from great distances, and find parking that is non-existent and again you obviously are out of touch. If the buses are destined to fail in their current operation then why should we bail them out? You can't subsidize a private industry and expect them to improve and become more efficient. 80% of students don't use the bus but your leveraging is forcing it down our throats.
Park & Ride recommendation could change cost of permits
Do you have any data that suggests that 80% of students do not use the bus service?
Park & Ride recommendation could change cost of permits
I'll correct myself by saying, as stated in the article. "Only 22.8 percent of KU students currently use bus passes, according to statistics provided by the Registrar’s office and Parking and Transit..." That's all I need to hear on the success of a privately owned bus system. What was wrong with the old system?
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