UNM brings in more money in parking-violation revenue than the entire city of Albuquerque does for the same.
The University collected about $1.2 million in parking tickets over the last two years, according to Parking and Transportation reports, compared to the $802,633 in revenue KRQE News reported for the city of Albuquerque during the same timeframe.
With more than 11,000 parking spots on campus and roughly 40,000 visitors a day UNM is the most visited location in the state, PATS Program Specialist Danielle Gilliam said.
Gilliam said the department employs 10 citation officers, and the collection of parking tickets brings in about 7.4 percent of the department’s revenue stream. The majority of the department’s funds come from parking pass sales.
Gilliam said PATS collects only enough money to cover its operating costs. PATS’ $5,584,623 in costs matches its revenue from sales, according to Student Fee Review Board budget reports.
“PATS does not receive any recurring funds from tuition, fees, or any other source,” Gilliam said. “PATS operates its parking and alternative transportation services, as well as the University shuttle service on permit sales, collection of citations and special event shuttle service revenues.”
PATS will likely receive a one-time allocation of $50,000 from student fees to fund the UNM Bike Share program next year after the budget is finalized in April, but this funding does not go toward parking, and is not recurring.
Because of the high demand for parking spots on campus, the average UNM parking pass runs about $300 per year. For many students, this cost—when placed on top of tuition and fees—is so high they look for other ways to get to campus.
UNM student Adrianna Trujillo, who commutes to school but refused to buy a parking pass, said the parking passes are too expensive.
She said she parks on Dartmouth Drive, Gold Avenue and Yale Boulevard—all residential streets near the University—and has never been ticketed when parking off campus.
“I park wherever I can off of the main roads around campus. There is no bus that can pick me up from where I live, so I have no other choice,” Trujillo said.
Trujillo said the walk to campus from her car is only 10 minutes, about half the average time of 20 minutes between the shuttles that service the paid parking lots.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
UNM student Sheryl Fuehrer, who parks in T lot, said parking adds to her daily stress.
“It is frustrating to pay $200 for a lot that is not even on campus because I live off campus and therefore use my car as a locker of sorts,” Fuehrer said. “It takes 30 minutes to walk to the shuttle, wait for the shuttle, go to my car, wait for the shuttle to get back and then get back to campus.”
According to PATS web page, shuttles run every 20 minutes, but for some students this is not convenient enough.
“If you miss (the bus), you either walk or wait 15 minutes for the bus to return,” Fuehrer said.
Director of UNM parking Bob Nelson said the goal of PATS isn’t to make parking expensive, but to promote the use of public transportation and maintain order on campus.
“What we want is orderliness. We want to inform and educate before imposing penalties,” Nelson said.
Nelson said PATS is working to create other options to help students commute to school cheaply and quickly. PATS, in conjunction with the City of Albuquerque, provides city bus passes to students free of charge.
“In sum, the cost to park depends on the type of service you are using and how you are using it,” Gilliam said.
