It’s no surprise to any student who owns a car that parking on campus is a headache. One can spend a good 20 minutes looking for a spot and scooting into class on time. As the student body grows, available parking space doesn’t.
Unable to get a decal for Bull Street Garage this semester, I joined many other students who park in hourly spots on a daily basis. Not only is this parking sparse, it’s ridiculously expensive. On average I spend $25 to $30 on parking per week, translating into roughly $400, on parking alone for one semester. Add that to tuition, technology fees, books and other small fees that sneak up on students — I think I pay USC enough without having to pay to park.
What really gets me is when a ticket shows up that shouldn’t be there at all. Last week I circled Pendleton Street Garage until I found a space. I tried putting coins in the meter, but it would not take. I tried several times with different coins, but nothing worked. In lieu of being late to class, I gave up, hoping a ticket wouldn’t be there when I returned in an hour. After all, the meter was broken, and no other spaces were open. Surely, since it was the University’s fault the meter was broken, it would not ticket me. When I came back to my car, I found out I was wrong.
There was a $5 ticket on my windshield for an expired meter. This is ridiculous. It was obvious the meter didn’t work. I had even left a note that read, “Broken.” Shouldn’t the school be responsible for the upkeep of its money machines?
USC needs to look into its parking procedures. Reduce the price per hour, make it more readily available and make sure undeserved tickets aren’t handed out.