INCREASED PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION FEES TO 
FUND PARKING AND SECURITY IMPROVEMENTS,
 REPLACEMENT BUSES, EMPLOYEE RAISES

	CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., Feb. 14 -- A package of rate increases
for on-Grounds parking permits, student bus fees, parking violations
and traffic control services is expected to raise more than $470,000
next year for improved transportation services and rising operating
costs.
	The new fee structure, which was recommended by the
University's transportation and parking advisory committee after
several months of discussion, will be effective June 1.  It was
approved Feb. 11 by Executive Vice President and Chief Financial
Officer Leonard W. Sandridge.
	Rates for parking in "premium" locations will go up $2 per
month, to $17.  Parking in other reserved lots and in commuter/student
lots will cost $1 more each month, raising those rates to $11 and $6,
respectively.
	The annual student bus and escort service fee will increase,
pending approval of the Board of Visitors, from $63 to $70.  Other new
annual rates are charges for service passes ($84 for University
departments, $200 for outside groups and individuals), a second car
($25, on the condition that only one can park at a time), and resident
permits ($72).  
	Parking tickets, which now range from $10 to $50, depending on
the violation, will start at $15.  Late fees will triple, from $5 to
$15.  Both of these increases take effect July 1.
	"The committee considered at least eight options for funding P
& T services -- basically different combinations of rate increases,"
said University Police Chief Michael Sheffield, who chairs the
advisory committee.
	"The majority preferred the plan that minimizes the impact on
employees and students, while producing enough revenue to add lighting
and security cameras, pave and repair several existing lots, improve
bus service, and cover increased operating costs." 
	Facilities Management and P & T are already working on plans
to improve security in the following parking areas, said Richard
Kovatch, assistant vice president for business operations:
	¥  W-6 lot next to the former Forestry Building
	¥   Carruthers Hall upper lot (cameras and lighting)
	¥  University Hall west side lot
	In addition, he said, two new transit buses have been ordered,
bus service to the Darden School was improved last month, and lighting
has been installed in the University cemetery lot.
	P & T's top priorities for paving and repairs are lots that
have been disrupted by construction or bad weather, the B-1 lot on
Jefferson Park Avenue, and the visitor lot at Kluge Children's
Rehabilitation Center on Ivy Road, said director Al Whalley.	
	 Like the University's other auxiliary service departments, P
& T receives no state funds for its operations, Whalley noted.	
	"That means we depend entirely on fees and similar revenues
for all our operating expenses--equipment, maintenance, employee
salaries, and facility improvements-- as well as expansion of
services," he said.  "We have put off raising the rates as long as
possible by finding ways to be more efficient, but eventually there
was no other choice."
	Parking rates were last increased in 1990.
	The new rate structure does not affect hourly rates in the
University's parking garages.  Monthly rates for Health Sciences
Center precinct lots will not change from the current $25-30.
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February 13, 1997
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