Why have parking rates increased?
Parking and Transportation Services is a self-supporting department. We do not receive central funding from the institution beyond the student transportation fee. Consequently, parking revenues are the primary support for most department services, including the operation and maintenance of our facilities. Over the past several years, a significant amount of surface parking on the Twin Cities campus has been lost due to construction. Because of land limitations, the department replaced the lost parking with ramps and garages which are 10-20 times more costly than surface lots. Consequently, campus has seen steady increases in parking rates to offset principle and interest payments on these facilities. These payments will continue for the next 20 years. Additionally, structural repair costs for upkeep on older facilities have increased significantly in recent years. Before adjusting the parking rates, PTS conducts market research to compare U of M parking rates to market standards. The u
