According to data from the Furman Police Department, 1,867 parking permits were sold to students last year, while only 1,470 have been sold as of Sept. 17. This decrease in sales follows a rise in the price of the permit to $124.99 from last year’s $94.99.
“It’s something we’ve been thinking about for years. Furman Police manage all transportation services and costs have increased significantly. Permit costs go directly to the university to pay for operating expenses,” Chief of Police John Milby said.
These expenses include costs for fuel, tires and drivers for these services, all of which have seen an increase in price over the last several years. Meanwhile, permit costs have not increased since 2008, except for in 2015 when there was a $4.99 additional fee when the service went online. Milby sees these services as a necessity, given how busy students benefit from SafeRide, shuttle services and the trolley.
He says the department increased permit costs to compensate for these rising prices as well as to align with the average cost that comparable schools are charging. The price increase was met with some resistance from the student body. Carleigh Steel ‘26 said she felt the increase was “completely and totally unnecessary.”
“We are not a major university with limited parking. We are not a commuter campus. We are a campus with upwards of 95% of students living on campus,” Steel said. “If the campus was designed to house all 2,327 students, was it not also designed to accommodate all those students’ cars?”
As a result of the price increase, Steel observed that more students were weighing the pros and cons of buying a permit.
“I was aware of students who weren’t buying parking permits this year. They felt like it was a waste of money to buy a junior parking pass since the only place they could park was in North Village,” Steel said. “I also know of students who don’t want to buy a permit and didn’t buy a permit because they are abroad or going abroad. They have to pay full price for the permit to only use it half the time.”
For students whom the cost of a permit might be a burden for, Milby explained that Furman Police cannot assess need, but Student Life has a fund that could help in some circumstances, and that these students should reach out to Dean of Students, Jason Cassidy.
In addition to facing a price increase, students are noticing seemingly higher rates of parking citations compared to past years.
“(Furman Police are) way too aggressive in their enforcement of parking policies. The ticketing system seems to be against students,” Steel said.
Milby confirmed that Furman police officers have spent more time in North Village as they heard that students there were not complying with the parking policies. However, Milby maintains that Furman Police are student-focused. While they have to enforce the parking policies for students, they have also significantly increased enforcement in the Trone Lot for visitors to clear up more parking for students, who are allowed to park in the lot for 30 minutes.
“Enforcement is a necessary evil,” Milby said. He cited a time without enforcement during the summer, when the department’s software to manage parking permits and tickets was down. During this time, students were parking in places like the McBee field, on the pine straw behind the dining hall and in reserved spots for faculty and staff, all of which caused disruptions on campus, according to Milby.
To students who still have not purchased a parking permit or are planning on not purchasing them in the future, Milby encourages them to do so to avoid getting ticketed.
“If students are holding off, I encourage them to buy a permit. If you end up with tickets and have to buy a permit anyway — it adds insult to injury. We wouldn’t like to see that and would like students to comply with Furman’s rules,” Milby said.