Correction (Sept. 2025):
An updated version of the Traffic Rules and Regulations, posted to the university’s parking page in August 2025, reflects the current fee structure, including the $150 annual faculty/staff permit, the $120 student permit, and the one-month renewable free option in Lot 19. This newer document supersedes the February 2025 version previously cited. Original story follows.
Faculty and staff at East Texas A&M University are paying sharply more to park on campus this year. Annual employee permits rose from $80 in FY 2024–2025 to $150 in FY 2025–2026 — an 87.5% increase in a single year. Student permits increased from $80 to $120.
The university announced its “updated parking system” in July 2024, highlighting digital license-plate recognition, expanded surveillance cameras, and planned lot resurfacing. At that time, the cost of a general permit was set at $80, with Prairie Crossing permits priced at $120 and reserved spaces at $300. The release also stated that beginning Sept. 1, 2025, annual permits would cost $120.
What was not made clear then: the $120 figure applied only to students. Faculty and staff were assigned a separate $150 tier, a new distinction not mentioned in the 2024 release.
The university also offers a no-cost option: a “Count Me In” permit valid for Lot 19. This option must be renewed every 30 days and requires registration through the parking system, limiting its convenience compared with an annual pass.
Many of the surveillance upgrades — including license-plate readers and hundreds of cameras across campus — were already in place before the 2024–2025 increase. That raises questions about whether recent fee hikes are tied to maintaining those systems, covering their installation costs, or funding other projects such as the resurfacing and striping described in the 2024 announcement, expected to be completed prior to students' return to classes in August 2024.
