Diego Vita/THE RIDER
The Parking and Transportation department increased the permit prices and made updates during the summer to some lots as preparation for the Fall 2026 semester.
Pablo Aguilar, director of Parking Services, said a few parking permits increased in price this year.
“For student Zone 2 parking permits, there was an increase of $4,” Aguilar said.
He also confirmed an $18 increase for administrator parking in Zone 5 and a $21 increase for employee parking in Zone 2 to “encourage any employees … to consider upgrading to … Zone 3,” as this would allow more room for Zone 2 parking.
Zone 1 parking permits did not increase.
“We try to keep the parking permit rate increases minimal,” he said. “We still have the most affordable parking permits in the whole UT system, and that’s something we’d like to keep.”
UTRGV Parking and Transportation’s Instagram page announced on July 31 parking lot improvements on the Edinburg campus began on Aug 3.
When asked about improvements, Aguilar said Parking Services focuses on changes that make parking facilities safer, cleaner and easier to navigate, such as striping the parking lots.
“We installed delineators [and] sign replacements,” he said. “This improves the traffic flow. … We’ve also done fire lane repainting. So, this ensures visibility for safety and emergency access. We’ve done ADA work, which is maintaining clearly identified accessible parking.”
He added that potholes were expected to be fixed and finalized by Tuesday.
Diego Vita/THE RIDER
As reported by The Rider on Sep. 2, 2025, another price increase for parking permits was issued last year.
Regarding the rate increases, Aguilar said Parking and Transportation is self-funded and, “the funds … we do receive from permit revenue or enforcement, like citation revenue, [go] back into the operations of Parking Services.”
He said rate increases help the department with the cost of maintaining and operating the university parking system.
Aguilar added cost is the main reason parking garages have not been implemented yet, as they would have to increase parking permit rates close to $600 in order to fund the project.
When asked about desired parking improvements, senior childhood education Daisy Luna replied camera monitoring might need improvement.
Luna added that she has seen Facebook posts of people’s cars getting hit. She said being “more aware” of what happens on the cameras could make a difference for those “little hit-and-runs.”
Aguilar said there are safety security cameras in the parking lots but the police department is in charge of those incidents.
Luna said there may also be issues with the signs and inaccurate occupancy numbers.
Aguilar said the department has addressed these issues through the summer.
He added the inaccuracies were an ongoing issue but believes the maintenance has been very successful.
Kinesiology junior Hugo Benitez said he was initially unaware of how packed parking gets at UTRGV and he “had to park in Stripes.”
Aguilar said parking expansion is still a priority.
“Every year we evaluate what the demand is per campus,” he said. “We’re analyzing … a way to maximize … our existing parking resources, but we’re also looking for opportunities for additional parking wherever it’s needed.
Aguilar said his advice for students new to parking is to “get to campus earlier” and consider further parking with the utilization of the VOLT express.
