UNF Parking Services has permanently swapped their parking tickets from the physical to the digital realm. 

In the past, parking tickets were given as a physical copy along with a non-descriptive email notification. This change to e-tickets will help Parking Services save a small amount of money and a lot of time. Also, e-tickets will decrease traffic congestion previously created by employees blocking roads and spaces in parking garages to place tickets on vehicles. 

License plate recognition allows Parking Services to easily gain vehicle information when distributing tickets. E-tickets will be sent to UNF student email accounts. The emails will be more detailed, providing an image of the vehicle, the reason for the ticket, and information about the appeal process. 

Despite the change, late fees will still be enforced after 14 days. In addition, an email reminder will be sent seven days before the deadline if the ticket has still not been paid or appealed. For people without a UNF email, physical tickets will still be used. 

Recently, Student Government reached out to parking services to request an additional notification service as another way to alert students of tickets. Parking Services plans to create an opt-in text program to send alerts to students that will start in the Spring. 

“It’s been fairly successful. I mean I have not heard any complaints other than the fact that Student Government just felt that they were not getting enough notifications. . .” George Androuin, Director of Business and Parking Services, told Spinnaker.

Addressing common parking issues, Androuin shared a few tips for students struggling to get spots and decide which parking pass to get. According to Androuin, annual passes are better than term passes for saving money. Day passes are much more expensive than buying passes for a longer period of time. 

With the struggle to find a space to park, Androuin said that “historically speaking, there are always spaces in Lot 53 and Lot 18.” Androuin recommended buying Gray Lot permits to avoid congestion in Blue Lots in the core part of campus. 

Rather than wasting time looking for a spot in the core of campus, Androuin recommends that students instead choose an open spot in Lot 18. Coupled with these new e-tickets, students can be “stress free” as they get back on campus and will even have the time to “answer a couple of emails,” he concluded. 

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