UTEP Responds to Petition to Lower ADA Parking Permit Fees

UTEP has responded to an online petition currently on actionnetwork.org asking that the university take a hard look at the ADA parking permit fees for students and employees which according to the petition organizers is the most expensive in the UT System.  From their response, it doesn’t seem like UTEP will be lowering parking permit fees for anybody at the moment.

The petition was put together by the Texas State Employees Union (CWA Local 6186) and is stating that the parking permit fees for disabled UTEP employees and students are unnecessarily high and exclusionary.

According to UTEP, the cost for an ADA parking permit which will allow inner campus parking is currently $200 per year for a student and $525 per year for a UTEP employee.  Petition organizers are indicating that the next highest cost for ADA parking permits is by UT Arlington at anywhere between $200 to $273.  The petition does not specify if the cost at other UT System institutions is per student or per employee or both.

UTEP is indicating that the cost of a parking permits is the same for everybody and does not differ if a student or employee is disabled.  Additionally, UTEP is indicating that it is these permit fees that pay for parking garage and shuttle services.

It really does not seem like the university is currently inclined to lower those permit fees which is a shame.  $200 or $500 every year (at least for now) for near campus parking or on campus parking seems like an unnecessarily high price to ask students and faculty to pay.

For a list of additional parking permits and fees at UTEP, click here.

To view the petition, click here.