Tailgaters looking to skip out on paying for parking in UA garages may now face a $300 fine and a booted car.
On Jan. 5, UA Parking and Transportation Services increased its tailgater citation fee to try and stop people from parking without paying.
"More and more people are tailgating. Last year, the total number of tailgaters caught was 96, and last semester alone we almost surpassed that number," said Michael Delahanty, senior parking program coordinator. "We want to put an incentive out there to stop people from doing this. It is easy to spot tailgaters."
Last semester, there were about 86 tailgaters caught, compared to 96 last year.
Drivers who do not have parking permits or have not put their ticket into the ticket machine usually rush out after someone else who has paid, Delahanty said.
In addition to cameras at the exits, PTS has placed people in certain areas of the parking garages to get tailgaters' license plate numbers, which PTS will then run through a database to see if the vehicle is registered to have a permit.
The ticket machine is also checked to see if the driver put their ticket in. If the vehicle does not have a permit or a ticket was not used, the owner is fined.
"Permit holders were complaining because they made an investment," Delahanty said.
Delahanty said the number of drivers caught tailgating this year went up because of an increased effort to look for them.
PTS first started fining tailgaters fall 2002.
The fine used to be $35, but this amount did not seem to be enough to stop tailgaters according to Delahanty.
Because of the increase in violations and permit-holder complaints, the fee was raised to $250 plus a $50 fee to remove the boot, Delahanty said.
PTS searches garages for cars with violators' license plates, and if found, the cars are booted.
"Hopefully it will get people to pay the legal way," Delahanty said.
But some students feel that the increase is a little extreme.
"This seems kind of excessive to charge $300, but one of the reasons I never park on campus or bought a parking permit is because it's so expensive," said Autumn Thompson, a religious studies senior.
Others think the increase is fair.
"I think the fine is good because people pay a lot to park in those garages. So it's fair," said Neha Gosalia, a molecular and cellular biology sophomore.
So far nobody has had to pay the new fee, Delahanty said.
"I think it will get tailgaters to stop and abide by the rules and regulations. We lose money, it wastes our time having to find the tailgaters, and it takes spaces away from visitors," he said.
Delahanty could not estimate how much money the garages had lost because of tailgaters.
But there are still parking permits available to those who do not want to pay the new fine.
A permit usually costs $450 yearly, but because it is the spring semester and the parking permit will expire in August, the price is being reduced every day.
The price of a parking permit is $282, but it will lower by $1 each business day.
"Buying a permit will be a lot cheaper than paying the fine," Delahanty said.
"You can go in and out of the garage as many times as you'd like."