Students at California State University, Los Angeles are being charged hundreds of dollars just to park on campus, adding yet another financial hurdle to accessing higher education. As of this year, an on-campus student parking permit costs approximately $242 per semester (including a new 10% Los Angeles city parking tax) – an exorbitant sum for students already paying tuition, fees, and Los Angeles living expenses. Cal State LA is predominantly a commuter campus, with most students living off campus and having no choice but to drive to class. For these students, paying for parking is not optional – it’s an unavoidable burden that functions like a “tax” on getting an education. It’s unacceptable that we must pay simply to access our own campus and attend the classes we are enrolled in.

This financial burden on students is unsustainable and unjust. Nearly 90% of Cal State LA students receive some form of financial aid. indicating that the vast majority of us come from modest or financially strapped backgrounds. Yet on top of tuition and basic needs, we’re expected to shell out almost $500 a year for parking permits or risk expensive daily fees and fines. Many students juggle jobs or family obligations and cannot rely on limited public transit options – driving is often the only viable way to get to campus, and parking fees effectively penalize us for commuting. Moreover, students across the CSU system are already shouldering the bulk of parking costs: system-wide, student fees contribute about 61% of all parking revenue . The average student parking permit across CSU campuses is around $172 per semester , yet Cal State LA students pay far above that average at $242. Not to mention as well that with recent 2023 data showing ~21, 542 students enrolled commute to campus, we can estimate that at $242 a semester, Cal State LA is making around $5,000,000 a semester from students- with just parking alone.

Our Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) has already voiced outrage at rising costs – they even passed a resolution in 2023 opposing the city’s new 10% parking occupancy tax that drove prices up further. These efforts show students’ concern, but incremental measures aren’t enough. It’s time to address the root problem: the cost itself. 

We demand free parking for all enrolled students at Cal State LA. We call on the Cal State LA administration and the CSU Board of Trustees to eliminate parking permit fees for students, ensuring that every student can park on campus without paying a dime out of pocket.

Yes, parking structures still need to be paid for and maintained, but there are alternate solutions. We believe students deserve free parking—without burdening our professors or cutting academic programs. We are calling on Cal State LA and the CSU system to reprioritize how parking is funded, seeking long-term structural support through administrative savings, event revenue, state transportation partnerships, and CSU-wide funding—NOT through tuition increases or increased costs for our educators.

This policy would immediately relieve a significant financial stress for students and remove a barrier to education. Other universities have acknowledged the need to ease transportation costs – for instance, CSU Long Beach provides free transit passes to its students as an alternative to driving – but as a major commuter campus, Cal State LA should go even further and make parking completely free. No student should have to choose between paying for parking and affording textbooks or groceries. Providing free parking would demonstrate that our university truly prioritizes its students’ access and success.

Join us in urging Cal State LA to implement free student parking now. By signing this petition, you are standing with the student body to say enough is enough – education should be accessible and affordable, and that includes not being nickel-and-dimed for parking. Let’s send a clear message to campus leaders and the CSU system that parking fees for students must be abolished. Together, we can end the unfair parking fees and ensure that every Cal State LA Golden Eagle can commute to campus without financial hardship. Sign the petition and support free parking for students at Cal State LA!