We, the students of the University of South Florida, are calling for the revision and reform of the Parking and Transportation Administration and accommodation for the unused portion of parking passes due to COVID-19. 

The University of South Florida was designed as a commuter campus, located on the outskirts of Tampa, and the students are paying for it, quite literally.  With a large fraction of the student population residing off campus, and with the unreliable nature of the USF bus system and public transportation system in Tampa and Florida in general, we are forced to commute to school via car.

The current system requires the use of parking passes, which start at $183.00 annually for a non-resident student or $91.00 per semester, and the prices increase for resident students and staff.  These prices seem especially unjustified when considering the conditions of parking on campus, when many students are late or have missed class due to not being able to find parking even when arriving early.  Additionally, the Sun Dome parking lot, an essential lot to students, is often sectioned off for unrelated events.   With so many students relying on the parking pass, we are calling for the University of South Florida to greatly decrease or eradicate the fee for the parking passes required to commute to campus. 

This price is even more provoking when you consider the stipulations that accompany parking on campus.  The citations are a major problem, one that resides with and frustrated countless people in the student body. Administration seems to hand out citations for sport but aren't very forgiving when it comes to appeals. Employees write tickets outside of enforced work hours and dates for the most minor offenses. The office is poorly run, as they are hard to reach and never pick up their phone.  Nobody is willing to help or accommodate students, and have been getting away with it for years.  If you are unfamiliar with these circumstances, the google reviews for USF Parking and Administration clearly outline the above.   

We, as students and students families, already pay for tuition.  Why should we have to pay a minimum of $200 a year to support a system that fails us time and time again?

Additionally, in its response to COVID-19, USF Parking and Administration again proved its disingenuous sentiments towards its students.  While they offered partial refunds for a limited time only, this was not widely advertised and many of us, heavily reliant on on-campus or service industry jobs that are leaving us unemployed, missed the window to receive money that could potentially be a huge help.

We cannot let this institution continue any longer.  Students, it's time for us to come together to demand a reform of the Parking and Administration department, a system that unjustly profits off of our dependence on driving to school.