When computer science major Gisela Maldonado, 20, logged into the MyECC portal to buy her parking pass for the spring semester, she was hit with an unexpected sticker shock.
“There was no notice; it was just when I logged onto the portal to get my parking permit that I saw that it went from $20 to $35,” Maldonado said. “I was a little surprised to see the price change.”
El Camino College students returning for spring classes will now have to pay $35 for a parking permit. This was the original price before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
This is an increase of 75% from $20, which was the standard fee when permits were reinstated for the fall 2024 semester.
“It was an oversight on my part,” Executive of Marketing and Communications Ann O’Brien said. When creating the bulletins informing students what they would need to do to get ready for the start of the semester, information about the price increase “was inadvertently not included in that communication reminder.”
While the price was not listed in the email, it appears in the link for the Honk Mobile page.
Faculty parking remains free.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown shut down the campus in spring 2020, parking permit fees were $35. Distribution and enforcement of the permits were suspended in spring 2022 in order to increase enrollment.
According to the Institutional Research and Planning Data enrollment trends dashboard, 12,373 students were enrolled in in-person classes at ECC for the spring semester.
If each of those students purchased a parking permit for $35, it would generate a revenue of $433,05..
In an interview with The Union, ECCPD Chief Matthew Vander Horck said funding for the police department, parking services and infrastructure-such as facilities for the upkeep on the parking lot-came from citations, fines and permit fees.
“The argument can be made that you restore the parking permit fee to what it was, then you’re more apt to be able to be able to pay for police, parking services and for infrastructure, the parking lots, with money generated from the permits and citation fees, so you don’t have to take it out of General Fund, it can be used for other stuff,” said Vander Horck.
Despite the return to pre-COVID prices, ECC is still one of the few community colleges with the lowest parking permit fees in Southern California.
The Union looked at parking permit prices at fifteen community college campuses across Southern California. They found that most, such as Rio Hondo, Saddleback College and Cypress College, charged $40 for the privilege to park on campus.
Students attending Compton College can park for free as long as they fill out an online application.
Despite appearing on a schedule of fees from a Board of Trustees meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, the price increase is still a shock for students who rely on their cars to get to campus.
“I feel like the jump was kind of big, but you’ve got to pay it regardless, right?” Maldonado said.
Editor’s Note: This story was updated Friday, March 20, to remove an error regarding the price of parking fees at Riverside City College
