Parking Permit Renewal Begins June 10

The price to park at Duke will go up this year as costs to operate and maintain parking lots and garages rise around campus, and plans for advances in technology take shape.

Beginning in August, rates for parking permits will increase from 75 cents to $10.50 per month, depending on permit type. The change in price will affect all permits for students, faculty and staff with the average increase for employee permits growing about $5 a month.

"Nobody likes to hear that parking rates will go up, but it's a necessity," said Kyle Cavanaugh, vice president for administration. "This year, we'll see a standard rate increase across all permit types, but as we look out over the next two to five years, we will look to simplify the rate structure and maintain competitive pricing."

The price increase is necessary to make rates more equitable and competitive with the market and to pay for modern parking management technology and improvements to lots and garages. [For more details on the future of parking at Duke, read this interview with Cavanaugh.]

"We'll continue to encourage our alternative transportation options from carpooling and vanpooling to riding local bus lines with the free GoPass, and we hope the community will see these as valuable alternatives," Cavanaugh said.

Duke has worked in recent years to provide many alternative transportation options. About 700 students and employees bike to work in addition to these other modes:

Transit: Slightly more than 8,200 Duke community members use the GoPass, a free bus pass that allows students, faculty and staff  to ride for free on regional buses in Durham, Raleigh and in between.

Carpool: Nearly 800 employees and students save money by carpooling to campus, which provides discounted parking permits that also offer preferred parking.

Vanpool: Employees riding in a vanpool park for free at Duke. Triangle Transit provides the van, pays for gas and insurance, and arranges, oversees and pays for all maintenance.

Duke community members using alternative transportation are eligible for two free daily parking passes a month in case they need to drive to campus. Commuters can also purchase up to 20 daily parking passes each month for $4 each.

Renewal Information

Nearly all permits are set to expire Aug. 15 and permits owned by employees who pay with payroll deduction will renew automatically. Because permits are mailed, faculty and staff should confirm their address by visiting “Manage My Parking Account” on the parking and transportation website. New permits will be mailed to an employee’s listed address with Parking and Transportation, which is most commonly a home address.