Students came on the first day of school looking for parking in frustation, and were met by even more agony when they found the daily parking passes went up to $3.

“We have had the $2 parking fee since 1998. I honestly didn”t want to raise it,” Michael Trevis, police chief, said. “The sad fact of life is expenditures go up and cost of llving goes up.”

Another change in the parking lot meters that took effect last semester is the disallowance of credit cards for buying parking passes. The changes could be rough on visitors.

“Well, it sucks because I come here to help coach volleyball, so I have to pay $3 everyday for two hours of practice,” Wohrstein said. “It”s hard because I have to make sure I get change everyday I come to practice.”

Cash was just a more efficient way to collect fees for the campus.

Trevis said when someone pays with cash, the college receives the entire http://kazinomons.com/ amount the student paid. But when they pay with a credit card, there are banking fees that go along with it.

“We felt the college is losing money so we discontinued the credit cards,” Trevis said.

The price hike perpetuates the notion of buying a full semester parking
permit.

“I would encourage full-time students to buy a semester permit for $35, instead of paying $3 everyday for a whole semester,” Trevis said.

Some students are paying for passes while trying to add a class that they may or may not be able to get into.

“Paying for classes and then not having the classes added, that sucks,” Lilliana Santiago, 22, business major, said. “I”m spending $3 a day and the classes meet four times a week, so that”s $12.”

Students who had no knowledge of the mark-up are encouraged to check the school website and their EC email accounts.

On elcamino.edu, it states, “Purchase a semester parking permit today! Effective Aug. 24, daily parking permits will cost $3 per day. Do the math – a $35 semester permit is a great deal! Permits are available via MyECC or the Cashier’s Office.”