< Back | Home

A fleet of buses waits to take students to various on and off campus locations Tuesday afternoon outside the Memorial Student Center. Bus transit, provided by Transportation Services, is free to anyone on the campus of Texas A&M.

A&M plans increase in parking pass prices

By: Melissa Appel

Posted: 2/27/08

Students can expect a $10 parking fee increase in the fall.

The fee is increasing because of higher upkeep costs, and is an effort to reduce debt incurred by the building of parking garages. Additional funding is required to raise the wages of student drivers and pay for buses.

Rodney Weis, director of Transportation Services, said he knows that increasing fees is not pleasant, but it is necessary for A&M transportation. "I purchase a parking permit, too, and like everyone else, I want my costs to stay as low as possible," Weis said. "I also realize that, in spite of sound management and good business practices, there are costs that we have little or no control over."

In an effort to involve students in future planning, Transportation Services has scheduled open forums in February, with the final Open Forum at 9 a.m. Thursday, in Rudder 301.

The forums are open to any student or faculty member and each meeting consists of a 15-minute presentation on funding and fees, followed by a question and answer period.

The presentation includes information about increasing fees in the upcoming semesters. Fees are at a gradual increase according to a three-year plan that has been discussed and implemented for two years.

Student turnout for forums has been disappointingly low, Weis said, but that doesn't mean that students do not have an opinion about the increase in costs. The reaction is mixed, but Weis said that students who take the time to understand the process are responding well.

"I'm actually OK with that [$10 increase.] The cost of everything else is increasing, so the cost of that increase isn't that bad, especially if you consider the gas cost increase," said Brian Williams, a junior accounting major.

Weis stressed that the forums are open to discussion on all topics. "We welcome the discussion and input - this is the main reason for the forums," he said. He and the Transportation Services staff want to inform the student population about how the service operates.

Discussion at the forums addresses student opinion of Transportation Services. Sean Glinski, a junior political science major, has not attended a forum but, like many students, has opinions regarding the performance of on-campus transportation. "I'm Class of '09. I feel that the services that they have provided have decreased since my first year," he said. "Buses aren't on schedule; they aren't very frequent," Glinski said.

Transportation Services has had discussions with student leaders, but Weis urged other students to get involved. "[Students should] attend the forums, study all the information we have on our website, talk to student leaders, talk to my staff and I, learn all you can about the transportation industry and how business is conducted at Texas A&M, and get involved," Weis said.