By Emily Volkert

A $90 hike in the cost of a parking pass has some students fuming, but university officials claim that despite the increase, Northeastern’s parking rates remain well below market rates in Boston. In previous years, students paid $185 per quarter for a daily parking pass, or $350 for an annual parking pass. However, as Northeastern adjusts to semester conversion, the annual parking pass has been eliminated, and now the only option for a daily parking pass is to fork over $220 per semester, which brings the cost up to $440 per year (2 semesters). Because the parking pass does not guarantee a parking spot, students and faculty alike complain about the high costs and the unavailability of a parking spot. Mark Barrett, a sophomore criminal justice major who commutes daily from Danvers, Mass., said that “parking passes are definitely too expensive, especially because parking itself is such a pain. Sometimes I have to drive around for a while just to find a spot. Then I’m late for class.” Faculty are also paying more — $60 more — for their annual parking passes. Students and faculty may not realize that the increased fee for parking passes does not reflect the greed for more money out of their pockets, claims Senior Vice President of Administration and Finances Lawrence Mucciolo. Mucciolo said that Northeastern’s parking garages actually “lose quite a lot of money because we’ve had to build high rise garages to replace inexpensive surface parking lots as we’ve built student housing and other buildings. We raise our prices modestly to help reduce the gap. Additional revenue helps pay debts on the garages and contract costs for staff to patrol the parking facilities.” Michael Benson, vice president of financial services of the Student Government Association, cites the Environmental Protection Agency as one reason why the annual parking passes were eliminated. “The City of Boston is struggling with the number of cars on the roads these days, which in turn affects the environment.” By eliminating the annual passes, which encourages car use, the new semester-based pass encourages students to bring cars to campus only when absolutely necessary. Another important fact to consider before griping about spending more on parking is that the weekly fee for parking has actually decreased. In the quarter system, students paid $20 per week, while in the semester system, a $220 parking pass comes to $15 per week. Because Northeastern can only provide 50 percent of its students with housing, living on campus is not an option for many students. Students can explore other opportunities to commute, however, such as the buses and trains that the MBTA has to offer. Nicole Moran, a sophomore nursing major, commutes daily from Woburn, Mass. She pays $3 to park and $1 each way to ride the T. “It takes me about thirty minutes to get from my house to the Ruggles T stop. I don’t mind the ride, and I think the T is pretty reliable. And I like not having to worry about finding a parking spot.” There is hope for the future of parking at Northeastern. Mucciolo said that Northeastern has plans for another garage on Camden Street. Benson is also pushing for more housing accommodations for students in the future. “As Vice President of Financial Affairs for the Student Government, I understand where students are coming from in having to pay even more for parking,” Benson said. “However, I want to assure students that I am always available to help resolve financial concerns in our community.”