The UF Transportation and Parking Services is infamous for showing no mercy to students with regards to citations and towing of vehicles. The Murphree Red One lot can only accommodate 57 vehicles despite the Murphree Area housing over 500 student residents. Despite paying $160 for an annual parking decal, parking spots are not guaranteed and are extremely limited. Finding a parking spot in the Red One lot is nearly impossible on weekdays, and many students are forced to park over a mile away to avoid being ticketed or towed. This often means that, at night, students are forced to walk alone in the dark because they cannot find parking near their dorms. If a student chooses to be patient in waiting for a spot to open up in the Red One lot, it can sometimes take hours of circling to find a place to park. If a student decides to risk parking in the orange lot, immediate effect is taken by TAPS in placing a citation on the vehicle.

Since December of 2021, a UF-affiliated van with an expired 2021 blue decal has been stagnant in the already-limited Red One lot. This vehicle has been stationary for so long that it has accumulated spider webs, and the owner of the vehicle has not attended to a note that was placed on the windshield in February. Multiple calls have been placed by various Murphree area residents to TAPS in hopes of moving this illegally parked vehicle in order to accommodate another resident. However, TAPS continues to say they will send someone to take action, which has had no avail after multiple calls. It is interesting to note that several illegally parked student vehicles in the same lot have been given citations since TAPS has been called, yet no action has been taken upon this van after months. 

While this situation in isolation might seem minuscule, it represents the overall injustice and corruption associated with UF TAPS. I urge you all to sign this petition so we can ensure equality in the enforcement of parking rules regardless of whether a vehicle is UF-affiliated or not.