KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee unveiled a new parking pass this school year — the Park and Ride permit. With this permit, leaders said students and staff can park off campus at the Knoxville Civic Auditorium and ride public transit onto campus.
It's part of the university's strategy of integrating public transit, as well as other transportation options, into solutions for its parking issues.
"We want to continue to focus more efforts on transportation or alternate transport, parking methods, and means. So, more on the lines of buses, scooters, walking and bike ride opportunities," said Brian Browning, Associate Vice Chancellor of Operations and Real Estate. "We have a new app system that allows them to engage directly with the system, to see in real-time where those buses are and how much time it will be before they get to their nearest stop."
With the app, students and staff can get a clearer sense of how long they may need to wait before catching a ride to class. That way, they may be able to plan ahead and give themselves the right amount of time to get to class or other appointments on schedule.
The university said 21,360 parking permits have been sold as of Aug. 15. A breakdown of the types of passes that includes is available below.
- 10,255 commuter permits
- 4,154 non-commuter permits
- 1,293 Park and Ride permits
- 5,658 employee permits
One student, who said she doesn't drive a car, said she has learned to embrace UT's new transportation options.
"It has been hard, especially these past few years, with all the students coming in and everything. But, I feel like after the upgrades they've been making, hopefully this year it will be ten times better than it has been," said Jalyiah Driskill, a junior at the school.