Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS)
Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) provides and manages access to the UC Santa Cruz campus, with a focus on sustainable transportation modes. By providing alternatives to bringing a car to campus, TAPS helps reduce the demand for on-campus parking, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate the impacts of travel on the surrounding community. These efforts support the UC Carbon Neutrality Initiative and the Campus Sustainability Plan, and are one of the reasons that UC Santa Cruz regularly ranks as one of the “greenest” colleges in the nation.
To support these efforts, parking for undergraduate students is either prohibited or extremely limited. Freshman and sophomore students who live on campus are generally not eligible to purchase parking permits. All commuting students and juniors and seniors who live on campus may apply for a permit; however, due to the limited number of parking spaces on campus, there is no guarantee of actually being able to purchase one. Historically, permits have sold out before the start of fall quarter, and have only been available through an appeals process for the remainder of the academic year. (Those students, including residential freshman and sophomores, with a documentable need for a parking permit, such as job or family responsibilities, or health-related needs, may use the appeal process to request a permit.)
Off-campus parking options are also extremely limited, and typically sold out before classes begin in fall quarter. If you will be living on campus, and are not eligible to purchase an on-campus parking permit, you should not expect to be able to park your vehicle anywhere nearby.
Gift cards, raffles, and other prizes are some of the rewards possible for using a sustainable transportation choice. Sign up at Cruz511.org and download the Commute Tracker app to log your trips.
For additional information, visit the TAPS website.