Editor,
I want to respond to Matthew Martinez's letter published in the Daily Lobo on Friday suggesting that either the City of Albuquerque or UNM pay for students' parking passes, in addition to paying for student bus passes.
The city is giving students free passes because it encourages more people to take the bus instead of driving, therefore making the roads and parking lots less crowded. If the city gave everyone a parking pass, then the parking lots would be even more crowded than they currently are.
This point ignores the fact that the University, not the city, owns UNM parking lots. So the city can't really follow through on the suggestion for a free spot anyway.
Compared to the $112 that Martinez says he pays for parking per semester, $12 a month is not nothing; it is more than half of what Martinez pays. The city is helping out people who choose to give up driving to school. We should all thank the city for its generosity.
If $112 is really what UNM charges per semester to park on its campus, then people driving their cars are getting away with a steal compared to those who park on other campuses around the country. For example, Portland State University is also an urban campus in a medium-sized city. At that university, it costs $267 a term to park. University of California-Berkeley charges $366 a semester, while University of Arizona charges $394.
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Finally, the free bus passes are helping drivers because every student who takes the bus frees up another parking space in the crowded parking lots.
Driving to school is a choice, not a necessity, especially now that bus passes are free. The hassles of finding a parking spot are part of your choice to drive, instead of walking, biking or riding the bus. If Martinez is having trouble finding a parking spot five minutes before class, I suggest that he wake up and come to school a little earlier. Or better yet, why doesn't he ride the bus?
Travis Naibert
UNM student
