Some of this quarter’s changes include month-to-month selection for employee parking passe options and a reminder notification system for drivers through ParkMobile
By RACHEL GAUER— campus@theaggie.org
As of Jan. 1, Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) at UC Davis has implemented several new changes for winter quarter. According to a recent press release, the changes include a new option for employees to choose each month between daily parking fees from ParkMobile or a monthly parking permit.
Previously, employees had to choose between paying on a monthly or daily basis at the beginning of the fiscal year and were then locked into a year-long commitment to their choice. Now, employees can choose at the beginning of each month whether they want to pay for parking for the whole month or pay only on the days they come to campus.
Perry Eggleston, the executive director of TAPS, discussed the potential benefits of allowing employees to choose between these options monthly instead of annually.
“Our team is hoping to provide more flexibility so affiliates can choose the commute that works best for them,” Eggleston said. “Now, those who have a monthly permit are not locked into buying a monthly permit for the entire fiscal year. Instead, they can look at their commuting needs in the month ahead and decide whether a monthly permit or daily permits best meet their needs.”
ASUCD Senator Jacob Klein, a first-year political science major, gave his opinion on the benefits of this new system.
“I think that switching to month-to-month permits would give greater flexibility to anyone using the parking lots in that they will not be tied into anything,” Klein said. “This will enable them to ultimately save money in the long run.”
The other significant update is a new ParkMobile notification system that will alert drivers when they are located in a parking zone to help them remember to pay. The system will rely on GPS technology to send a notification to a driver as soon as they enter a parking area. As of now, the introduction of these reminders has been delayed, but they are set to begin this quarter. Eggleston explained why the new system is delayed as well as why it is so important that it becomes available.
“ParkMobile just needs to turn [the notifications] on,” Eggleston said. “We’re pushing for these alerts to go live as soon as possible because we know it will help customers remember to pay for parking when they come on campus and possibly avoid a citation.”
ASUCD Vice President JT Eden, a second-year environmental science and policy major, discussed how he thinks these notifications can assist those who may need an extra reminder.
“[The system] will definitely be of use to students — and me personally,” Eden said. “It won’t be a perfect fix, but it could certainly help forgetful people, like me, to avoid citations.”
According to the update, other changes that are set to be implemented this month include price reductions in event-parking fees for employees as well as several improvements to the TAPS website. Later in the year, Eggleston said the team hopes to introduce even more parking improvements.
“[One] of the biggest changes we expect to roll out this quarter [is] a new parking-availability app called Just Another Parking App (JAPA),” Eggleston said. “This will allow drivers to see in real-time where parking spots are available on campus, so they can make a more informed decision about where to park or whether to drive at all.”
Written by: Rachel Gauer — campus@theaggie.org
