The University of Georgia says July parking charges will be waived for UGA faculty and staff: the move comes as more of them return to campus after a year away because of the University’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
From the University of Georgia...
We know that many of you have already returned to campus or are currently preparing to resume your pre-pandemic work arrangements, and we stand ready to help you successfully access campus through our transportation and parking options. To support you during this transition, we will not deduct parking permit charges from faculty or staff paychecks for the month of July 2021 and will issue refunds for those who may have paid for their permit using a method other than payroll deduction for this period. For those who will receive a refund, we anticipate refunds to be processed the week of July 19, and the process will most likely continue through the month.
Through a long-standing partnership between the University of Georgia and Athens-Clarke County Transit, UGA faculty and staff have had access to the Athens Transit buses for many years at no additional cost. This arrangement is funded by Transportation and Parking Services so that faculty and staff have access to additional transportation options both on and off campus. Near the start of the pandemic last March, ACC Transit initially moved to fare-free rides but resumed charging fares on July 15, 2020. Fares were suspended again from September 10, 2020 through December 31, 2020. On January 6, 2021, the Athens-Clarke County Commission extended the fare-free transit service for all riders through June 30, 2021 and recently voted to maintain this status through June 30, 2022. Since UGA faculty and staff are currently eligible to ride fare-free, the payment UGA makes to ACC Transit for these rides is being eliminated during this time. The elimination of this fee allows us to provide this one-time parking fee waiver to our faculty and staff.
If you have any questions related to this parking permit update, please contact us at parking@uga.edu.
Helpful Tips for Navigating Campus
As pedestrian, cyclist, and motorist traffic begins to increase on campus, we encourage you to take advantage of the following resources:
- Use Deck Check to see available parking - Deck Check, available on the UGA app, allows you to see how many parking spots are available in select lots. Use this to make the best choice as to how to travel to or around campus. If all the spots are full, using the bus, carpooling, walking or biking may be a better option.
- Download ParkMobile for hourly parking – if you plan to park in an hourly parking lot, go ahead and download the ParkMobile app for fast, convenient, and contactless payments. To pay for hourly parking using the app, simply enter the zone number posted on signs in the lot, select the amount of time needed and touch the “Start Parking” button to begin the session. You can extend the time of your parking session on your mobile device, without having to go back to the pay station and receive a push notification when your time is nearing expiration. View a full list of ParkMobile locations here.
- Use the Campus Map to find routes - the UGA app includes a Campus Map feature that helps you quickly find point-to-point walking routes.
- Utilize Livesafe to enhance your safety - stay connected with the Livesafe safety app. Livesafe can make emergency calls, allow selected contacts to virtually follow your location, and report any suspicious activity to the University of Georgia Police Department. Learn more about the Livesafe app here.
- Familiarize yourself with bus routes - familiarize yourself with bus stops and route names by viewing routes online, looking at our interactive route map, and exploring our 360º bus stop tour.
- Live track the buses - download the UGA app to live track our buses and their routes as well as views of our bus stops.
- Easily find bike racks - UGA is a bike friendly campus and has been named a Bronze Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists. Athens-Clarke County is also a recognized Bicycle Friendly Community and has several bike lanes and marked shared roads. Be sure to check out UGA’s bike rack map to find the most convenient place to park a bike.
- Use the bike racks on the buses - Additionally, all UGA buses are equipped with bicycle racks. This allows individuals to commute to campus by bike, or use their bike to get around, but also utilize our buses if they choose to do so. Click here for a video demonstrating how to use the bicycle racks on our buses.
- Visit the on-campus Fix-It Stations – UGA offers four Fixit self-service bike repair stations on campus equipped with a tire pump and basic tools. Located at the Miller Learning Center, the Ramsey Center, the Main Library, and Myers Quad, these stations also include QR codes that link to repair instructions.
- Safety tips and resources - Additionally, Watch for Dawgs, a campus-wide initiative, focuses on providing safety information for those who bike, drive, walk, and bus around UGA. Visit their website as a resource for bicycle, pedestrian, and vehicle safety tips, general information and more!
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