Commuters to the University have to sacrifice some of their flexibility this year.
The Department of Public Safety has reduced parking and transportation options for commuting staff and students in response to a misuse of the benefits provided under the old Commuter Alternative Program.
The new program retains the same options but requires commuters to choose between primary transportation options.
The main change to the policy deals with commuters’ ability to use up to three incentives to help make commuting easier:
- A free Triangle Transit GoPass, which covers fare on buses running through Raleigh, Chapel Hill and Durham.
- A Commuter Alternative Program parking pass, which allows commuters to park in the closest lots and take free Chapel Hill buses to campus.
- Single-use passes, which allow commuters to park directly on campus a few times a year.
Until the 2009-10 school year, commuters could receive all three of the benefits. They will now have to choose between the GoPass and park-and-ride access. Both options still include single-use passes.
Two infrequently used options — passes for a bus from Pittsboro and a $20 vanpool subsidy — were not affected by the change.
Randy Young, DPS spokesman, said the changes to the program are the result of misuse of the incentives by some participants, who transferred unused parking passes to other individuals.
“There were folks who were looking to use more incentives than were intended to be coupled up,” he said.
Young said recipients of GoPasses were supposed to use Triangle Transit as their primary source of transportation, but some were relying excessively on park-and-ride lots, filling spaces for local transit users for whom park-and-ride lots are intended.
Young said the office will consider each case individually if commuters feel the current plan will not accommodate their needs.
“We understand that any changes affect a large number of people,” he said. “We will keep an ear open and are certainly open to hearing concerns.”
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
