Students expect affordability and real-time availability maps from parking services
At the University of Regina (U of R), academic planning begins long before a lecture and includes a lot more than planning a course schedule. For most students, the first calculation they do in a semester is to figure out whether or not they can afford a parking pass.
With standard student permits costing $236.88 per semester and parkade permits being $520.38 per term, parking is one of the biggest concerns for U of R students driving to campus. This is also a consideration for picking classes and effects campus engagement on the students’ part.
Parking expenses on campus
At U of R almost all parking requires an ePermit between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays. Public surface parking and parkades also offer hourly or daily options for those without permits.
For the 2025-26 year, the standard student permit for the M parking lot costs $236.88 per semester or $59.22 per month. The Z permit which is lot specific, costs $79.20 per month and parkade specific is $130.10 per month.
“I have a Z permit, and it’s very expensive,” said education student, Jaida Smith.
The rate for hourly parking without permits is between $2 to $7 per hour from 5 p.m. to 6 a.m. in specific parkades close to buildings like the Dr. William Riddell Center, Centre for Kinesiology, and Kisik towers.
While parking lots far from these buildings have free parking on the evenings and weekends, it is often difficult to walk far on icy lots over long distances.
“It is a 15-minute walk to the parking lot for college west residence,” said first-year social work student, Taylor Silzer. “It’s hard to walk all the way to the other side of campus in the winter.”
Additionally, parking expenses can add up quickly on top of other expenses including tuition costs.
If I pay close to $250 a semester for a parking spot, I should not have to arrive an hour before my class just to struggle finding a decent parking spot.” – Natalie Torgerson, Student, U of R
U of R weighs in
Some students seem satisfied with the parking spaces that U of R has to offer.
“Comparing the parking spaces here with other universities, I am actually pretty happy with it. I know I can always find a spot on campus. The walking distance is not as far as most universities, and the pricing is pretty comparable to others,” says Kylie Hackl, fourth year nursing student.
Some, however, say that stress over the availability of parking spots impacts their academics.
“If I pay close to $250 a semester for a parking spot, I should not have to arrive an hour before my class just to struggle finding a decent parking spot. There is not enough student parking and turning one of the M lots into paid parking shows how our university values profit over students. $250 should provide me with a safe, well paved, and close parking spot” stated Natalie Torgerson, third year biochemistry student.
“Piling snow in the middle of parking lots isn’t okay either. Especially when it’s only in the parking lots with student parking pass areas” she said.
While the U of R parking and transportation services state that parking fees fund maintenance and snow removal, students state they’d also like predictability, safety, and better access to parking spots.
“They could publish real-time availability or at least an idea of where there might be space,” suggested Silzer. “Right now, it’s all guesswork.”
