Student affordability: How much do students pay for parking on campus?

Having a car is great but parking it may not be a pleasant experience.

Back-to-school season kicks off next week and now is the time to consider your travel options. If you’re planning on driving your car to school every day, finding an affordable spot to park may be at the top of your checklist.

We compared the parking permit costs of three schools in Vancouver to find out how much students need to pay in a month.

UBC

UBC

UBC parking options vary and are catered to individual needs depending on usage. While undergraduate student permits have a two-parkade limit, graduate student permits are valid for five parkades.

Options:

• Approximately $104 per month from September to April
• Approximately $106 per month from May to August

Grad students living off-campus have the option to pay $111.42 per month or $1,247.28 per year.

Students living on campus pay $90 per month.

SFU

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SFU Burnaby has a number of parkade options that vary in pricing and availability. It has both indoor and outdoor lots, including residence lots where students can park on a daily, monthly, or hourly basis.

Options:

Parking permits at SFU Burnaby cost $70 per month (FlexPass).

Students at the SFU Surrey Central campus will have to spend $42.50 per month, and students living on campus will face fees starting at $55 per month.

BCIT

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BCIT has three campuses with varying parking costs. It has different prices for cars and motorcycles and also has multiple payment options including pay stations, pay-by-phone, and FlexPass.

Options:

Students at the Burnaby campus pay $130 per month for parking (20-day pass with weekends free). Students at the Marine campus face a cost of $186 per month, and students at the downtown campus will have to shell out $20.25 daily or $333.90 per month, according to Impark.

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While permit costs for those living on campus may be cheaper, none of the campuses come with exceptionally affordable parking costs and may be an extra bill you have to bear.

To save on parking and gas costs, you may consider carpooling, taking public transit, or even bicycling to school.

How do you travel to school? Let us know in the comments.