‘Mind-boggling’: Some BCIT daily parking lot fees to see steep hikes

Daily parking fees are set to nearly double next month at some British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) campuses, leaving at least one student frustrated.

In an email sent out to students, BCIT says prices haven’t increased in over eight years and “this brings BCIT more in line with parking prices at similar institutions.”

At the Burnaby Campus, rates will be increasing from $5.50 per day to $9.25 per day — an almost $4 increase.

At the school’s Downtown Campus, rates are also seeing a significant jump from $12.75 per day to $20.25 per day — a $7.50 increase.

The Marine Campus will also see a slight increase, from $5.50 per day to $6.50 — a $1 increase.

Cameron Stooshnoff, a part-time student at the school, says he found out about the rate through a flyer that was handed out on campus.

“Wow, going from $5.50 to $9.25 is a bit of a shock, right? And you think about what the cost of living is…to increase parking rates at a local institution for students it’s just mind-boggling,” Stooshnoff said.

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Although most of the lots will be increasing, BCIT says there will be an “economy lot” for $5.50 per day that will be first come first serve.

On top of that, the school says students have the option to pay less than the almost $10 fee by getting weekly or monthly passes.

That rate will also be bumped up to $6.50 per day.

But Stooshnoff says it’s not enough.

“If anybody knows BCIT, the parking lots are full…Monday to Friday, so chances of you getting that spot if you’re you know, coming in a little bit later in the morning there is slim to none. And there’s not really any good options for street parking around the area…there’s not really a lot of alternatives and it sucks,” he explained.

“I find it hard to believe they can even justify that, but I don’t think they also really care too much about costs to students,” he said.

Shell McDonald, another student at BCIT, says the rise in parking prices takes a bite out of other key expenses in life.

“That affects what food I can purchase. I’m already on such a tight budget considering everyday, you know, $3 loaf of bread versus $2.25. So, having to take into account such a dramatic increase, 68 per cent of my parking rate, affects everything,” McDonald explained.

These two BCIT students are among the nearly 200 who have signed a petition to stop the rate increase, calling for more answers from the school.

BCIT responded in an email to CityNews on Thursday, saying, “Prices have not changed in more than eight years and this brings BCIT more in line with parking prices at similar institutions.”

Starting on Feb. 1, the new costs are set to come into effect.

“We will be carefully monitoring how these changes impact parking on our campuses to ensure we deliver the best solutions for staff, students and visitors,” the school said.

BCIT says it’s solutions include the aforementioned economy lot with the current daily rate, cheaper monthly vs daily parking plans, and giving students the option to buy a four-month parking pass with the lower rates until January 31st. However, those are not the solutions some students want.

“By increasing these rates, you’re affecting people in much more intense severity than you would imagine when it might affect them finishing their education or having to drop out for a while and work full time before they can return to school,” McDonald explained.

With files from Robyn Crawford and Sarah Chew