UNM Parking and Transportation Services (PATS) said they will respond to complaints about new credit card parking machines by getting machines that accept cash.
Daily Lobo readers wrote comments and letters voicing their frustration on the inconvenience of credit card parking machines.
“These parking kiosks might be convenient for Parking and Transportation Services but they suck for us,” UNM staff employee Glenda Wyndorf wrote in a letter to the editor Wednesday.
Robert Nelson, Interim director of PATS responded to complaints in a letter today.
“PATS is aware that some customers have been inconvenienced by this transition,” he wrote. “To better serve our customers, PATS is in the process of obtaining electronic pay stations that will accept cash. Within the next few weeks, cash-accepting technology will be available on the main level of the Cornell Visitor Parking Structure.”
According to Nelson the customers’ feedback was the main reason PATS decided to incorporate cash accepting machines, but there are currently no plans for cash machines in other parking lots.
“At this moment we are not expanding this service to the other lots, but we are going to continue to listen to the opinions of our customers and we could see that expanding in future,” he said.
Daily Lobo readers also complained about having to pay in hour increments.
“Your one hour minimum payment required, plus transaction fees for phone payment, is nothing short of abject greed on UNM’s part,” one reader commented online. “And if the machines are “unable” to offer parking increments of less than an hour, then it’s PATS’ own stupid fault for buying them in the first place.”
Nelson said PATS is looking at options for allowing customers to pay in increments of less than an hour, but that change would be more difficult.
“We don’t have that technical capability at this point with these machines,” said Nelson “That is a problem and we are going to have to come up with a new solution.”
UNM student Nancy Brown said she was surprised PATS had their ear turned toward public opinion.
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“We like to hate the administration, but they seem like they are actually being responsive for once. I just heard about this in the paper and already they are changing something. Honestly that is pretty refreshing. I think allowing cash parking and credit card parking will make it easier on everybody.”
