This coming fall, increased parking prices  will require hundreds of UC Santa Cruz students, staff and faculty to budget extra money to afford parking on campus — making it more difficult to get to class, meetings or even their work shifts. Again and again, drivers feel they are forced to climb the wall of economic hurdles established by the university.    

“I know a lot of students are low income, not only because of their backgrounds, but also because of trying to work and also be a full-time student,” said Victoria Johnston, a third-year psychology and sociology double major. “To have to pay nearly $500 to even get yourself to class is just horrible.”

The most expensive 2025-26 academic year non-commuter parking permit is $515.95, and the cheapest is $378.72. Now, Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) has announced more changes to its service: more requirements for parking permits, higher parking ticket fees and increased parking permit costs. 

Price Hikes Now, Potentially More to Come

TAPS’ proposal outlines increases for six of the eight parking permits offered at the university. 

R permits, the most common type of permit issued to students which covers both the East and West Remote Lots, will increase in price by 7 percent, costing $405.23 annually. This is compounded by a 10 percent price rise for motorcycle-specific vouchers, which will cost $185.62 annually. 

According to the new proposal individuals with a disabled person (DP) plate, which disabled drivers can acquire through the state, must now also have a permit with the university. Until now, DP plate users have been able to park anywhere free of charge.

TAPS is also planning on implementing new requirements to be parking permit-eligible. On-campus residents will no longer be allowed to purchase parking permits without an appeal. Previously, third-years and beyond were eligible for a permit even if residing on campus.

Many students rely on these permits to safely commute to and from campus. Johnston expressed the importance of having access to reliable transportation.

“I know a lot of people also need the permits to work off campus or to go home if they have family issues,” she said. “Just the fact that they live on campus should not dictate whether or not they can have a permit. It’s an issue of the lack of parking.”

An Impact Felt Across Campus

But this is not the end of the increase. According to the TAPS FAQ sheet, all of these increases are subject to an additional 10 percent increase each year over the next five years. This means that in 2031, the R permit could cost over $600.

“I think it’s ridiculous,” said Juliana Bolivar, a third-year art major. “You shouldn’t be raising the prices on students.”

UCSC already has the highest transportation fee among all UC campuses. Every student pays a baseline $531 through their tuition for the Student Transit Fee and access to the Santa Cruz Metro, which is increased each year. 

As a result of discontentment with TAPS, students passed Measure 82 in the Spring 2025 Campus Election, which established the creation of a student commission called Voices for Empowerment and Safety in Transportation (VEST). The commission is made of students, financial professionals and TAPS staff, and is meant to bridge the gap between students and TAPS as they make decisions about student fees.       

Previously, the Student Union Governance Board has held TAPS town halls, in which students have the opportunity to express their frustration with TAPS services to TAPS staff directly. Last spring was the first in-person town hall, where TAPS administrators agreed to make the town halls a quarterly occurrence.

Despite the agreement, a town hall has not occurred since. 

“I haven’t heard a thing from the executive director of TAPS, Dan Henderson, or vice chancellor of finance, operations and administration, Ed Reiskin,” said Student Union Assembly (SUA) Chair Rigo Ventura. “No initiative from anybody to take this on, or communication to take it on. I think they thought they could get away with making a false promise.”

Internal and External Budget Factors

TAPS is unlike other facilities owned by the university as it does not receive state funding, meaning that it is responsible for covering its own operational and capital costs. 

Amid the university-wide structural budget deficit, TAPS became responsible for paying off previous debt accrued from the building of the Core West Parking Structure, an expense previously covered by central campus funds. According to Assistant Vice Chancellor Scott Hernandez-Jason, this will cost TAPS around $4.5 million over the next six years, out of TAPS’ $10 million budget. 

Hernandez-Jason also outlined TAPS’ attempts to match inflation rates.

“While TAPS has held rates steady for eight years, rising inflation and the need for significant infrastructure improvements (such as the growing $5.2 million in anticipated costs over the next six years) make a ‘status quo’ budget impossible without reducing service levels,” Hernandez-Jason wrote in an email to City on a Hill Press. “It would also mean TAPS is not able to invest in the long-term needs of the campus community.”

Currently, TAPS is working on parking expansion projects on five campus lots. 

“Recent outreach and feedback from the campus community has clearly demonstrated that the top three transportation priorities of the campus community are new sidewalks, new parking, and new bike paths,” according to the TAPS FAQ sheet.

Though some students express that the lack of parking is TAPS’ biggest problem, others feel that TAPS  should focus on lowering costs and increasing accessibility.   

“It’s not a singular issue, to increase the prices of parking permits when students already can’t afford that, when students are already so far away and having to pay lots of money to remain housed, when tuition has been increased,” Rigo Ventura said.

It is becoming “more and more expensive for students to attend UC Santa Cruz,” he added.

Despite the recent price increase, students’ fight for a stronger voice in these decisions is far from over. Ventura spoke to the importance of student agency on TAPS issues and beyond.

“Student leaders have never backed down from this issue. They understand that it matters, it’s universal, everyone on campus is impacted one way or another,” Ventura said. “That’s what makes our campus so beautiful and amazing. Students really do the work that our administrators won’t do.”

Additional reporting by Kate Lipsky.