PATS doubles ticket fines, increases permit prices

Over the summer, University of New Mexico Parking and Transportation Services increased fines for parking citations from $25 to $50. This is one of a handful of changes PATS made to its operations ahead of the 2024-25 academic year amid student criticism.

PATS also increased rates for permits. Costs for campus resident permits and commuter permits increased by 3%. Costs for Reserved Proximity Tier 1 and 2 permits — reserved for faculty and staff — increased by 7% and 5%, respectively.

At a town hall meeting on June 18, PATS Director Shawn Arruti said previous citation fine amounts were not enough to discourage people from making “poor parking decisions.” Parking meters at pay-to-park spaces around campus charge $1.75 per half hour — making it cheaper last year to pay a citation fine than to pay for eight hours of parking.

UNM student Seth Connett recently received a parking citation. Not knowing about the fine increase, he said he was surprised it cost $50.

“I feel like they're monopolizing parking a little bit, because you can't really park on the side streets. It's terrible you're paying so much because it's your only option to get to class on time,” Connett said.

PATS increased permit rates because it was unable to cover its expenses, Arruti said at the town hall.

The money PATS makes from parking permits, hourly parking, citations and special events goes toward purchasing buses, parking lot and transportation maintenance, personnel costs and more, according to PATS Marketing Representative Joshua Whitman.

PATS — composed of approximately 80 staff and student employees — is a fully self-funded auxiliary department of UNM, according to Whitman. It functions under Institutional Support Services and is financially independent from the University and state legislature, Whitman wrote to the Daily Lobo.

“While we understand the concerns about hourly parking and permit prices, these fees are necessary to sustain the quality of service that PATS is expected to provide to our campus community,” Whitman wrote.

At the town hall, Arruti said UNM’s parking rates are comparable to its peer institutions. A permit for a campus resident in the S or Y parking zones costs $576 with the new increases. The least expensive student permit, for commuters who park in South Lot or K-Lot, costs $216, according to the PATS website.

General parking permits at Central New Mexico Community College cost $17.50 annually, according to CNM’s website. New Mexico State University’s commuter and resident parking permits cost $87 annually during the 2023-24 academic year, according to NMSU’s website.

Shortly after PATS raised citation costs, the Instagram account @boycottpats was created, which has over 350 followers as of Sunday, Aug. 18. The account calls for a boycott of PATS, encouraging UNM students not to buy parking passes, pay for meter parking or pay citation fines, according to a post.

Jarrod Trainor, an organizer of the account, became frustrated with PATS after a ticket he received was not appealed despite him paying for parking, Trainor said.

“That made me mad because I come from a lower economic standpoint; I don't make very much money. To have (a ticket) not appealed and lose $50 — which for me, I can make 10 meals out of $50 — that is a big issue for me,” Trainor said.

The Instagram account aims to inform students how to avoid parking through PATS, according to Trainor. Boycotting PATS could encourage the department to collaborate with students to negotiate new citation prices, Trainor said.

“We think that we can make an economic impact on PATS if we get enough people to refuse to pay to park and to find loopholes to better help these people who can't afford to park,” Trainor said.

There will be protests in response to the citation fine increases, according to Trainor.

“If we didn’t have enforcement staff out there to enforce parking requirements, it would become what we refer to as the ‘wild, wild west of parking,’” Arruti said at the town hall.

Lily Alexander is the editor-in-chief of the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at editorinchief@dailylobo.com or on X @llilyalexander

Nate Bernard is a beat reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on X @natebernard14

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