Parking on Campus @ IUB

With thousands of students bringing their vehicle(s) to school with them, Indiana University inevitably experiences a shortage of parking spaces, at least those near residence halls and academic buildings.

While finding a place to park may be a burden for those who dare negotiate the seas of pedestrian, bicycle and bus traffic during the week, more reasonable individuals will find that many safe, accessible parking garages, lots and spaces are available to leave their auto. 

Every year, students who bring their vehicle(s) to campus have the pleasure of charging a hefty sum of money to their infamous “Bursar Account” for a coveted IUB parking permit. For most, just one of these lovely hanging passes will be sufficient to legally park on campus for the academic year. Although, if you have a motorcycle, or some other motorized form of transportation, an additional parking pass will also need to be purchased in order to legally park on campus. And while an IU parking permit will allow you to park on IU property, it does not allow you to park wherever you want.

For most freshmen, their experience with bringing a car to college will be filled with bus rides (Hint: A Route) to and from Memorial Stadium. Unfortunately, most freshmen get an “E” Permit, which only permits them to park in any parking lots adjacent to Memorial Stadium and Assembly Hall. For anyone living in the Northwest neighborhood: Briscoe, McNutt and Foster, this is a decent deal that will actually save you money over purchasing a “D” permit. For everyone else though, invest in a good pair of walking shoes or get to know the bus schedule very well… As a matter of fact, do both, because the odds are pretty high that you’ll miss the last bus of the night at some point… (To prepare for this, also read: When Safety Counts)

After getting to know the late night bus drivers on a first name basis throughout freshmen year, most returning students become eligible for some variation of a “D” permit that allows them parking privileges near their residence hall. The use of these passes is more strictly enforced by parking operations, so be sure that you are parked in the correct "D#" zone. (Hint: a D4 doesn't work in a D5)

If you’ve read this far and are thinking to yourself, “hmm… this sounds like a relatively easy system to manipulate…,” think again! Other than weekends, students, faculty, visitors, and EVERYONE else must display some type of legal IU parking permit in order to park on campus. If a parking permit of such qualifications is not clearly displayed while on campus, a seemingly relentless force of parking enforcement officers will inevitably notice this phenomenon and promptly issue you a ticket. Depending on the type of violation, a ticket can range anywhere from $25 to $200.

Parking on campus really is a lot easier than all of this may sound, so here are the basics that everyone should know: read the signage, interpret the signage, and obey the signage. 

Thanks for reading, hope to see you back next week!