CSULB daily permit machines make it harder to pay with cash

All daily parking machines on campus no longer accept cash payments for permit purchases. 

A large label adhered across the front of the machine now states: “CREDIT CARD ONLY.” Down below is another message, “NO RECEIPT OR PERMIT PRINTED.”

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Vivian Xiong, an attendant at the Visitor Information Center, said the permit machines used to accept cash but stopped in mid-July of this year. 

“A majority of our customers pay with credit or debit cards,” Director of Parking and Operations, Robyn Ames-Woodyard, said.

For those looking to pay cash for a daily permit, they can visit the Visitor Information Kiosk on Bellflower Boulevard or Parking and Transportation Services on Merriam Way. 

Ames-Woodyard said the machines stopped issuing receipts to support the school’s mission of sustainability by cutting down on litter in the parking lots.

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Daily parking permits became students’ only option to park on campus when Parking and Transportation Services announced that they had halted the sale of semester permits on Aug. 28. 

For students like Nick Hosseni, a mathematics education single subject credential student, they are reliant on the daily parking permit program. 

Hosseni commutes from Buena Park, which leaves public transportation out of the question as a means to get to campus. Since he comes to campus only two times a week, he has no intention of purchasing a parking permit and plans to park off-campus for the rest of the semester.

“I don’t like [the idea of] giving them more money,” Hosseni said.

According to the Parking and Transportation Services’ website, paid parking is required at all times on campus. Options for payment vary, but most popular for students are a parking permit for the semester for $155 or daily permits for $10.