2022-23 reduced cost parking permit program expanded

July 21, 2022 – The reduced cost parking permit program is being expanded for the 2022-23 parking year. The salary threshold to qualify for a reduced cost parking permit will increase, and reduced cost permits will now be available in all campus parking lots where full-price annual base lot permits are offered.

The program change is commensurate with the recent campus-wide minimum wage increase.

Under the reduced cost program expansion:

  • UW-Madison employees and UW Hospital and Clinics employees earning a gross hourly pay rate less than $18.35 per hour qualify to apply for and purchase an annual base lot permit at a reduced cost.
  • Most UW graduate and professional students with a gross biweekly pay rate of less than $1468 qualify for the reduced cost permit price.
  • Reduced cost parking permits will now be available in any lot on campus where full-price annual base lot permits are offered.

Before the expansion, reduced cost permits were available in Lots 17, 29, 36, 46, 67, 75, 76, and 83, and the qualifying hourly pay rate threshold was $17.16 per hour.

For more information, please see the reduced cost parking options webpage.

Impacts of program expansion on annual parking permit renewals

The program expansion will impact some customers who have already applied for an annual 2022-23 parking permit.

Customers who applied for a 2022-23 annual base lot permit and who are newly eligible for a reduced cost permit due to the program expansion will be automatically considered for the reduced cost price in the parking lot listed in their offer assignment letter. These customers do not need to take any additional steps to obtain a reduced cost permit: they only need to accept their parking permit offer by the deadline stated in their offer letter.

Some eligible customers have already applied for a reduced cost parking permit in Lot 17, 29, 36, 46, 67, 75, 76, and 83, but may wish to apply for a reduced cost permit in a lot where reduced cost permits are now available. These customers have a few options:

  • If eligible customers receive a parking assignment offer for a lot listed above, they may let this offer lapse by not accepting the permit offer. Instead, these customers may reapply for a different lot in the permit application system (PAS) to be considered for a new permit offer in future rounds. Read more about applying for parking.
  • If eligible customers already accepted their permit offer in one of the lots listed above, they may reapply for a reduced cost permit in a different lot and make an exchange at a Transportation Services office location. The $25 exchange fee will be waived for customers who want to accept a reduced cost permit offer in a different lot.

Reduced cost parking options were first offered in the 2020-21 parking year to UW graduate and professional students and UW-Madison employees earning lower wages during reduced campus operations related to the COVID-19 pandemic.