Why is university parking so expensive?

Question

why do all universities purposely have less parking than they need then charge 300 or 400 bucks to park? if you got a job anywhere else, and they told you you could MAYBE park within walking distance, and that you'd have to give then $$$ to be able to park there, you wouldn't take them seriously, would you? (unless you were in a large city, but even then, you don't basically give money back to your employer...)

Answer 1

Because they can.  Most universities have a hard time getting enough land to use for parking.  But it doesn't really matter because if they keep the parking low they don't have to pay for maintenance (keeping it clean, painted, snow removal, etc.) yet they can charge more because people need it.  And if they raise the prices enough so that people can't afford a parking pass then they still have a full parking lot.

If you think parking is bad you should check into international edition textbooks.  American publishers charge high prices for books sold in the US but they know that other countries won't pay those prices because their schools are cheaper.  So instead the publishing companies put a different cover on the book and sell it overseas for a lot less.  In poorer countries they actually sell textbooks that are black and white copies of the hard bound books.  I had a class this semester with a hard back book that was $120.  I bought the international version out of Singapore for $25 plus $25 shipping.  It is soft cover but the content is identical.

Answer 2

The state owns it.