The University Department of Parking and Transportation announced Tuesday an increase in parking permit prices to compensate for continuing expenses.
The policy will increase the rates of all parking permits by $1 per month for 12 months starting June 1.
The new prices will be $50 per month for premium reserve parking, $40 monthly for non-premium reserve, $38 monthly for dorm storage and $17 monthly for commuter and low-cost storage parking.
Monthly parking rates at the University Medical Center will rise from $80 to $85. The Medical Center parking areas face a greater rate increase because patient parking and a higher number of parking garages make these areas a "very different environment," said Rebecca White, director of Parking and Transportation. She added that parking facilities at the Medical Center operate on a different budget than parking elsewhere at the University.
The department is an auxiliary service, meaning it does not receive any funding from the University or the state and must generate its own revenue, White said. "We've been able to hold our prices steady for as long as we can, but we need to increase rates to cover our costs," she said.
White said past methods to keep parking permit rates low, such as increasing hourly fees of parking garages and charging for athletics and John Paul Jones Arena event parking, were insufficient this year.
"The annual revenue goes for things like keeping parking lots clean, utilities for lights, personnel that we use to run our front counter and answer the phones, personnel we use to enforce parking lots [and] for insurance on properties and vehicles," White said. "But our biggest costs include the repair costs for parking garages over the next 10 to 15 years."
White said the Central Grounds, Emmett/Ivy and Scott Stadium parking garages will have renovations in the near future, while the Culbreth Road, John Paul Jones Arena and Darden Law School parking garages are also expected to undergo repairs. Higher gas prices also contribute to the need for the permit price increase because the department must pay for fuel to run its buses.
Although the permit price increase will affect students as well as employees, White said the vast majority of permits are sold to University faculty.
Rising rates are not new to University permit holders.
"From 1998 until 2007 we increased the rates every year except one," White said. Unlike previous increases, however, which raised the permit rates from $24 to $36 per year, the 2011 increase will raise the rates by only $12.
"The parking garages would be bigger [after the renovations], so if [people] have to pay that extra dollar, it's going to be worth it," second-year College student Rosemary Han said.
Although the most recent rate increase is not as large as in past years, it is always a "painful situation" when new rates are implemented, White said. The department encourages employees to carpool and ride Charlottesville Area Transit, which is free for University students and employees.
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