An increase in parking permit fees put in place by the Board of Trustees for the San Mateo County Community College District took effect on January 1.

The cost of the parking permits has risen from $40 per Fall or Spring semester to $50. The cost of Summer semester parking permits has been risen to $25 from $20 and for full year permits the cost rose from $70 to $90.

The convenience fee which ranged from $3.25 to $4.00 has been diminished and the full cost of the permits will be the same. According to a report from the District, this will help “reduce lines at cashiers and make it more cost effective to purchase the permit online.”

For students who are eligible for the Board of Governors fee waiver, the cost has also been raised to $30 per Fall or Spring semester, $25 for Summer semester, and $60 for a full year. The fees have not been raised in five years so therefore “the increase seems high to students,” according to the report. A new law allows the District to raise the price of the parking permit “fee
annually based on the percentage change in the Implicit Price Deflator for State and Local Government Purchases of Goods and Services published by the United States.”

This means that the college can change the price based on a GDP implicit price deflator. This, according to Nadaq’s website, is an “economic technique used to account for inflation by comparing the current-dollar gross domestic production to constant-dollar GDP as a ratio.” The ratio accounts for price changes of goods and services that make up GDP and changes in the consumption of GDP.

Gerard Tandoc , a Skyline student, mentioned that it was his first semester at Skyline College and he didn’t have a problem with paying for his permit.

“It’s a lot better paying for a parking permit because buying the day passes gets to be too much,” said Tandoc. Another Skyline student, Roy Miles, talked about how he doesn’t find it bothersome that the prices of parking permits have been raised.

“I think that it’s worth it, paying for a permit because it saves you money rather than paying for a day pass,” said Miles. “The money of paying for a day permit adds up and it could go up to over $50.”