Managing parking permits and overseeing the shuttle bus program are the two major
services that most people associate with Parking and Transportation Services.
Aside from those two very important things, the PTS team is also tasked with overseeing
of parking for events that bring a substantial number of visitors to campus.
Event parking is complicated and requires a great deal of energy and planning to ensure
that everything runs as smoothly as possible. Each event has its own set of circumstances
that require attention to detail. Coog football parking differs from Cullen Performance
Hall parking, which differs from commencement parking.
UH alum Neil Hart serves as the assistant vice president for Parking and Transportation
Services. When he joined the department in 2017, he faced the challenge of finding
ways to pay the department's expenditures without putting a huge dent in students’
pockets.
As an auxiliary service, PTS does not receive funding from the state or University.
It is completely self-funded, which means it has to generate its own revenue to cover
all of its costs.
He developed a plan to outsource employees to keep expenses low and implemented charges
for visitor and event parking.
must generate revenue to cover its costs and pay its bills.
Currently, PTS is close to $13 million in debt.
Visitor/special events parking makes up about 22% of sales, with about 50 events per
month on average, including lot rentals. From charity walks to events for kids, all
guests need a safe and structured place to park.
Allen Deforde, PTS Assistant Director and James Wright, PTS Enforcement and Event
Parking Manager are the masterminds behind event parking. The teams and systems they’ve
put into place leave room for little to no error. They work full-time, but their hours
can extend to 60 or more per week depending on the number of events scheduled.
Every Wednesday, contracted employees from Reef, Allen, James and Roger, our night
parking manager meet to prepare for upcoming events. The night before each event teams
prep garages and lots by setting up signs, A-frames, delineators and anything else
they deem necessary to make parking easier for guests. After each event, the team
comes back together to discuss any concerns that may have come about in an after-action
review. Allen and James coordinate with UHPD for traffic and mobility plans.
In the fall UH will join the Big 12 Conference. As you can imagine, stadiums and fields
will be packed with fans from near and far. Planning for those events has already
begun. We predict the number of spectators during football season will be close to
30 thousand. One change we plan to implement is text-to-pay and prepaid parking.
PTS helps UH excel by making parking easy and worry-free for guests