Parking revenues may drop an estimated $100,000 by the end of the school year as a result of the implementation of the U-Pass in the fall.
Current revenue patterns in the pay and display areas suggest a possible decrease of five to 10 per cent from the last fiscal year.
The upside of the decrease in dollars generated by parking is it marks of the success of the student bus pass. Of 15,879 eligible students, the college issued U-Pass cards to 97 per cent.
Annual parking permits for lot eight sold out for 2015-2016 and permit sales for lot nine were mostly on par with previous years. The decline comes specifically from the pay and display lots, which are not reserved but paid for daily with a cash-and-carry system.
“We’re seeing early indications of reduced demand on pay and display traffic, our parking pass sales have remained relatively stable,” said Brent Brownlee, director of College Ancillary Services. “We just didn’t see the same number of students on waiting lists at the beginning of the year that we’ve seen historically. It’s logical to think that if there are less people on the waiting lists, there are less people driving to campus and using pay and display – it’s a simple deduction that students are taking the bus.”
Brownlee pointed out that one of the expected benefits of the U-Pass was to alleviate the extent to which the college’s parking lots were strained. A decline in revenue is a natural by-product.
“There’s no longer a waiting list, we have parking available,” said Roch Lafond, manager of Parking, Lockers, Coin Ops and Card Services.
“A five to 10 per cent (decline) is a manageable amount considering the importance of creating a more sustainable campus,” said Brownlee.
Both Brownlee and Lafond also mentioned that the statistics are currently incomplete. The colder seasons may bring a shift.
“Until we have a full year of data, the figure isn’t final,” said Lafond. “I don’t know what winter will bring.”
For some students, both having parking readily available and access to the U-Pass is the best of both worlds.
Allena Simpson, a second-year recreation and leisure services student, drives to the college on occasion – making use of the $9 pay and display lot – and uses her U-Pass.
“A lot of people waste a lot of time on the road through transportation,” said Simpson. “Driving takes up a lot less of my time.”
Brownlee and Lafond agree that the practice of transient use of the pay and display lots by students who also possess the U-Pass will only increase over the balance of the fiscal year.
“When it’s minus 40 degrees,” said Lafond, “that may make a big difference.”