Parking and Transportation Services has converted all of UNM’s paid parking to a cashless, card-based pay system, but not everyone is excited about the change.
Student Micayla Botwin said her main concern was cost.
“We should make it easier for students to get on campus for little to no cost,” she said. “We are coming here to learn and we are already paying. It should be easier and less expensive to get on campus. I don’t mind paying with a credit card — that seems a lot faster — but I mind that the minimum is $1.75.”
Danielle Gilliam, PATS Program Specialist, said the payment method will hasten the parking experience.
“Now customers can get in and get out of Cornell [structure] with ease and save time,” she said. “Customers have reacted favorably to this improvement in service.”
The machines print out tickets for display within vehicles.
Customers pay electronically at $1.75 an hour. UNM Parking and Transportation’s newest project, Park Mobile, will allow students and staff to pay for hourly parking via their mobile phones.
Students can add minutes to their parking spots if they are running late without having to return to their cars Gilliam said.
“Whether you are using the app for Android, iPhone or Blackberry, or calling, this is something we are excited about,” Gilliam said.
The service will cost 35 cents per transaction in addition to the hourly fee, or you can enroll in a monthly plan. Students can find more details on the UNM Parking and Transportation website.
Students and parents parked at the credit card-operated pay stations for the Class Crawl on Aug. 21. Several parents and UNM students used the pay stations, and student Jackson Sabol said he favored the new system over the old one.
“It seems more convenient than counting out quarters and dimes,” Sabol said. “I don’t mind switching to everything being electronic.”
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Parent Margaret Palmer said the stations were not as convenient as coin-operated machines for short visits.
“What if you just need to run in and drop something off?” she said. “You can’t leave the ticket for the next person, so it doesn’t make sense.”
Associate director for PATS Robert Nelson said he isn’t sure how much additional money the organization is bringing in by not allowing customers to pay for increments of less than an hour.
“I don’t have any idea [how much money that would generate].”
Nelson said PATS is considering offering fractionated parking, but said it presents technical difficulties.
“We would be open to offering half hour parking if there is a demonstrated need for that, but some of our machines are unable to offer that.”
