The availability of parking on any university campus brings to mind a Woody Allen restaurant joke: “The food here is terrible, and the portions are so small.” Since the Chancellor’s Web site News Update debuted in April 2001, one of the issues raised most frequently in the “Letters To The Chancellor” column has been parking: the rising costs, the number and location of spaces, and the ratio of faculty, staff and student parking. In this interview, Greg Snee, Director of Transportation and Parking Services, answers some FAQs about campus parking and discusses plans for new structures and alternative transportation modes.

Q. Why does it cost so much to park on campus?

Snee: The one thing I always emphasize when people ask – and it’s something a lot of people don’t know – is that, according to the University Master Plan adopted in 1960, parking at UCSD must be self-supporting. We can’t use state money or university money to pay for parking or housing, which are considered “auxiliary” costs. Parking fees have to cover current operating costs and also the costs of the debt incurred when we build new parking structures, which is like the cost of your home mortgage. A parking structure that costs $10 million to build will wind up costing $22 million once you pay off the debt. Also, as new campus buildings eliminate surface parking lots, the lots are replaced by multi-level structures, which are more expensive to construct. Where a parking lot might cost $2,000 to $3,000 a space, a parking structure will cost $20,000 to $30,000 a space. I completely understand the frustration people feel when their parking fees go up and their salaries don’t. But, unfortunately, those are two completely different financial entities.

Q. Couldn’t the law be changed so that the state helps out with the rising costs of campus parking?

Snee: UCSD gets a finite amount of state funding; given budget constraints in recent years, the state probably would not be willing to incur additional costs. From the state’s standpoint, the choice would be something like: Should California pay to build a UC lab that might help find a cure for cancer, or should it pay for UC campus parking?

Q. How are student “S,” staff “B” and faculty “A” fees set, and how are those spaces allocated?

Snee: The Transportation Policy Committee makes recommendations to the Vice Chancellor for Business Affairs, and that committee has 10 voting representatives: three faculty members, three students, three staff members, and one from UCSD Healthcare. (Committee’s Web page) Fee increases are directly tied to parking costs, and, historically, those increases have been across-the-board percentage hikes that are applied equally to all permit holders. Space allocations are based on quantifiable data. Our operating principle is, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” Every quarter, we survey every lot and every type of space. Our October 1, 2004 Parking Inventory counted 13,987 total permit spaces – “A,” “B” and “S” combined – and the breakdown was 13 percent “A,” 37 percent “B” and 50 percent “S.” Our goal is to maintain a 90 percent peak usage rate in all permit areas. In the Spring of 2004, peak occupancy averages for all three categories were close to or at 90 percent, and they were all similar. “A” spaces averaged 87 percent; “B” spaces averaged 90 percent; “S” spaces averaged 86 percent. But the peak occupancy times are different. “A” or faculty spaces hit peak occupancy at noon. “B” or staff spaces hit peak occupancy at 11 a.m., and “S” or student spaces hit peak occupancy at 2 p.m. View these and other parking statistics online

Q. So none of the three categories ever hit 100 percent occupancy – none of them ever fill up?

Snee: That’s right. Even at peak occupancy times, there are always places to park – there are literally thousands of empty spaces – but they are not always convenient or close to the buildings where people have classes or work.

Q. How many new parking structures are anticipated? Where would they be located, and how many new spaces would they provide?

Snee: The Transportation Policy Committee and the Campus/Community Planning Committee have approved the siting and construction of two new structures. The $29-million Hopkins Structure will add approximately 1,400 parking spaces in December 2006. A second new structure has received siting approval in the Revelle College area; a final decision is expected this year.

Q. Do you have any tips for motorists who have trouble finding parking spaces on campus?

Snee: If you go online and look at the latest parking survey, you’ll see where parking spaces are available even at peak occupancy times. Those empty spaces will almost certainly be close to a campus shuttle stop, and the shuttles are very convenient. We often see people circling around and around a full lot waiting for someone to pull out. That time would be better spent parking farther away and riding the shuttle in. There also is the stress involved when you commute in each morning and you know you’ll have to hunt for a space in a crowded lot. If you park where spaces are available, you reduce that stress.

Q. How can a UCSD commuter take advantage of federal and state pre-tax deductions on parking and transportation?

Snee: If you purchase an annual permit via payroll deduction, you are automatically enrolled in the pre-tax savings program, and van pool riders also are automatically enrolled. Starting next month, we also will offer pre-tax savings on the purchase of MTS Transit and Coaster passes sold from the Transportation and Parking Office.

Q. What proportion of UCSD commuters use van pools, carpools and other alternatives to single-occupancy cars?

Snee: Along with the parking survey, we also conduct a transportation survey each winter; we count every person in every vehicle at every entrance at peak times. Based on our Winter 2004 survey, 42 percent of the 46,000-plus people who enter campus on a daily basis are using some form of alternative transportation – carpools or van pools, MTS buses like our Transit Club members, the Coaster, commuting by bicycle like our Pedal Club members, or even walking. Without that 42 percent, UCSD would have a much tighter parking situation.

Q. What is the breakdown on alternative transportation commuters?

Snee: Based on our Fall 2004 membership rosters, we had 1,835 carpool riders, 1,562 Pedal Club participants, 103 Transit Club participants, 171 Coaster Club participants and 304 Van pool Program participants.

Q. What about convenience? Many people are reluctant to carpool or van pool because they will lose the flexibility of driving their own cars.

Snee: We understand that concern, and that’s why every carpool and van pool rider registered with Transportation and Parking Services gets a free “occasional use permit” that gives you 10 free days per quarter to drive in alone. We also have a “Guaranteed Ride Home” program for people who don’t have a car here and have a sudden emergency, like a sick child who needs to be picked up right away. The “occasional use permits” and “Guaranteed Ride Home” programs also are provided to people who have registered in the Transit Club, the Coaster Club and the Pedal Club.

Q. The campus shuttle system expanded last year with the addition of the Cityshuttle. How popular are the shuttles, and are there plans to add more routes?

Snee: The shuttle systems have been one of our greatest successes; all nine together provide service to more than 23,000 riders each day. The newest system, the Cityshuttle that rides between campus and the University City area, opened in Fall 2002. In its first week of operation, it carried over 3,200 riders a day. By Fall 2004, it was carrying 7,600 riders a day. We also started the Mesa Apartments shuttle for the graduate students who live there, and that system is carrying 700 to 800 riders a day. Starting this month, we are extending the two continuous campus loop shuttles to run seven days a week, weekends as well as weekdays, because this will help ease student parking, especially in the vicinity of Warren College.

Q. How did you wind up in this job?

Snee: I’m a UCSD alumnus. I was a student at Fourth College (now Warren College) in the mid-70s when the parking rate for students was $4 a quarter. That was too expensive for me, so I parked off-campus for free. After I graduated with a degree in political science, I needed to start paying off my student loans, so I started working in this department as a parking representative for the UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest, and I became Director in July 1993.

Q. How do people react when you tell them that you are the Parking Director?

Snee: Every meeting I go to, I hear the same thing: people say, “I wouldn’t want your job for anything in the world.” When you hear that two or three times a day, you start to think, “Maybe they’re right.” But, in fact, I think I might have one of the greatest jobs on campus because parking is involved with every facet of university life. It affects faculty, students and staff; it affects every department. We see the widest spectrum of campus life: patients and visitors to the medical centers, sporting events, musical concerts, La Jolla Playhouse, Birch Aquarium. And we’re in an interesting business. Our goal is for you to not buy our product; we encourage you to use alternative transportation so you won’t need a parking permit.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

Snee: Well, no one ever calls and says, “I just found the perfect parking space,” or “The shuttle was on time today.” But when I meet with people who have concerns, and I can explain how parking operates so that they can see the whole picture, at least they know that we’re trying everything we can do to make the situation better. For me, the best part of the job is getting to know the student shuttle drivers. Approximately 175 students a year have the opportunity to help pay for their UCSD education by driving shuttles. It’s one of the best-paying student jobs, and it’s the only student job that requires alcohol and drug testing, so you know that these are very responsible young people. Sometimes they come back 10 years after they graduate, they are now successful in their careers, and they talk about how much they enjoyed being shuttle drivers. That is very rewarding.