Wichita State increases parking permit costs

Wichita State students and faculty who drive cars, trucks and SUVs to campus will pay 25 percent more for parking permits this fall.

Now, drivers will pay $150 for the school year instead of $120 for a permit. Motorcyclists will continue to pay $60 a year.

Last fall, the university changed the way it charges for parking, requiring students who want to park on campus to purchase a permit. Those who didn’t want to pay could park for free at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex near 29th and Oliver and ride the shuttle.

Prior to that, parking was included in campus fees.

Overnight shuttle services have also been canceled since Shocker Hall residents will now park on campus, according to the university’s website.

In May, university officials said they were changing where the 700 students who live in Shocker Hall would park. Instead of parking 2 1/2 miles from the dorm at the Metropolitan Complex, and using an on-call shuttle system, students will be allowed to park on campus if they buy a permit.

The shuttle will still run from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays when classes are in session. But the university will no longer offer 24-hour daily transportation for Shocker Hall students wanting to get to their cars.

As part of the change, the university laid off nine employees who provided transportation at night and on weekends. Their last day was July 2. The nine employees, who were paid $14.02 an hour, were the drivers who shuttled students and staff in SUVs on the overnight and weekend shifts. While most had been hired last fall, one was hired in early April.

Enforcement hours for parking permits also have been shortened for some lots to end at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., depending on the color assigned to the lot, according to the university’s website.

The permit increase comes less than a month after the Kansas Board of Regents approved a 3.6 percent cap to tuition and mandatory fees. Parking permits are not a mandatory fee.

Tony Vizzini, WSU provost and vice president of academic affairs, said in a previous interview that the university would have to comb through its internal allocations and reprioritize since WSU had initially requested a 5 percent increase in tuition and fees.

This story was originally published July 13, 2015 at 9:36 PM with the headline "Wichita State increases parking permit costs."