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Parking & Transportation Policies

Parking at Santa Clara University (SCU) and on lands owned or controlled by the University is regulated by this Parking and Traffic Plan and is enforced through the issuance of parking permits.

Section 2.1   Faculty, staff & students must purchase permits through eCampus accounts.

Section 2.2   Newly Hired Faculty and Staff

Section 2.3   Persons with Disabilities are eligible to purchase a reduced fee permit

Section 2.4   During permits hours, all vehicles on campus must have a parking permit

Section 2.5   A “Permit”: Not a “Reservation”

Section 2.6   Permit Purchasers may not sell, transfer, or assign their issued permit

Section 2.7   Revoked Permits

Section 2.8   Withhold Issuance of a parking permit

Section 3.1  Visitor Pass

Section 3.2  Invited Guest Pass

Section 3.3 Service Permit

Section 3.4  Faculty/Staff (B)

Section 3.5  On Campus Resident (C, CW, CN)

Section 3.6  Apartment Resident-Sobrato Hall (S)

Section 3.7  Apartment Resident-Off Campus (D, DB, DS, DV)

Section 3.8  Non-Resident Student (E)

Section 3.9  Reduced Fee Permits (F)

Section 3.10 Reduced Fee Permits-Villa Apartment (F-Villa)

Section 3.11 Motorcycle Permits (M)

Section 3.12  Evening Parking Permit (N)

Resident Santa Clara University students are not permitted to bring cars to campus for the duration of their first-year (Fall through Spring quarters). This includes students who have enough credits to be considered second-year students at any time during their first academic year at Santa Clara University.  Transfer students are not affected by this policy.

First-year on-campus resident students who can demonstrate a compelling need or who would suffer undue hardship under this restriction can apply for a waiver.  Waivers will be reviewed by the committee (Asst. Dean for Student Life, Housing Director, Resident Life Director, Campus Safety Services representatives), and will be kept to an absolute minimum.  Permits obtained through the waiver process will be “C” permits and issued only for one academic Quarter per application and re-application is needed for each quarter thereafter. Applications are on a quarter-by-quarter basis and committee decisions regarding issuance are final. After the submission deadline, the application process is closed until the next quarter.  To file a waiver, complete the online application.    

Persons who obtain a parking permit by providing falsified information will have current and future parking privileges revoked, referral to the Office of Student Life as appropriate and may face judicial action.  All fees paid will be forfeited.

Campus Safety Services will not sell parking permits to first-year students except upon approval of a Waiver and other members of the SCU community who are eligible for a parking permit will not be permitted to purchase one for a first-year resident student.  Attempts to do so will result in having any future parking privileges of both parties revoked.

Parking citations that remain unpaid after 21 days from the date of issuance are processed as follows:

The Department of Motor Vehicles for the state in which the cited vehicle is registered is contacted to provide Registered Owner name and address information.  Upon receipt of this information, a notice is mailed to the registered owner of record providing fifteen (15) days in which to either pay the associated fine or to request an appeal.  If after 21 days neither payment is received nor an appeal filed, a Penalty Fee is added to the amount due.

NOTE: It is the vehicle owner’s responsibility by law to notify DMV of any address changes.

When Parking Citations remain unpaid: They are referred to Collections.

California DMV does not accept requests for registration holds from Santa Clara University for unpaid citations.  Therefore; unpaid SCU parking citations will not appear on a Vehicle Registration Renewal Notice from the California Dept. of Motor Vehicles.

Parking citations that remain unpaid after the Penalty Date are referred to a Collections Agency.  Once placed in collections, the Registered Owner will receive written notification from the Collection Agency that the amount owed must be paid.  Failure to pay the amount due will result in notification to the three (3) major credit reporting bureaus within 90 days of the first correspondence, and can negatively impact a person’s credit rating.  A notation on the Registered Owner’s credit report will state, "Collection Accounts: Accounts seriously past due."   The Credit Bureau will not remove this notice for 5 years. Therefore; persons who receive notification that an unpaid citation has been placed in collections should respond immediately to such correspondence.

Persons who are SCU Students or former students (including graduates) that own or are associated with vehicles that have unpaid parking violations issued to them are subject to having a Hold placed on their Student Account.  While such Hold is in effect, the person can not register for a class, add or drop a class, receive their diploma, be certified by the State of California for the practice of law, or have transcripts sent at their request.  Once applied, the Hold will only be released upon payment at the Transportation/Campus Safety office of all delinquent notices of parking violations issued to their vehicle(s).  Payment must be cash, a cashier’s check, or a money order made payable to “SCU Parking.”  Partial payments are not allowed once a Hold is applied.  The release of a Hold is not immediate, but generally, can be accomplished on the next business day following payment.

Currently-enrolled students may check the status of their Student Account at any time by logging into eCampus, at SCU’s Home Page, www.scu.edu/ecampus to determine if any Holds have been placed. For further information, contact Student Accounting at (408) 554-4412.

Carpools are vehicles that arrive on campus with two (2) or more persons.  To participate in the Carpool Program you must:

  • Register all participants in the carpool at the Campus Safety office. There is no fee associated with the Carpool Program.
  • Receive a Carpool decal that must be displayed in the vehicle that is brought to campus.
  • Upon arrival on campus, the carpool participants must be verified by officers at the Main Gate.   Upon verification, the vehicle will be issued a daily parking pass.  This pass, coupled with the Carpool decal, will entitle the vehicle to park in any “B”, “E”, or “F” spaces as appropriate.
  • Each Carpool will receive five (5) daily parking B or E passes per month as appropriate, for participant’s use during the month of issuance, and must be validated on the day of use by officers at the University’s Main Gate.

Alternative Transit Card

An alternative transit card is provided (once per month) for the following modes of transportation: carpooling, bicycling, or taking the train (ACE monthly pass, Caltrain or BART). Customers may receive a max of five daily parking permits, per month, for participating in one of these programs. One card issued per person.

Carpool Registration

Thank you for reducing your carbon footprint by carpooling to campus. We work closely with the Center for Sustainability to reduce single-occupancy vehicles traveling to and from campus

If you are interested in creating a carpool, please fill out the Carpool Registration Form. Each carpool member is required to fill out this form. Once completed, the carpool group will be asked to verify their carpool group is up-to-date before the start of the academic year. 

You do not need to complete the form every year

Bicycling

The alternative transit card is also available to bike commuters. 

Train

Train commuters who purchase a monthly pass also qualify for the alternative transit card. Proof of purchase required. 

Employee Benefits

Mass Transit Flexible Spending Account

The Mass Transit FSA allows employees set aside pretax dollars for the reimbursement of qualifying transportation expenses you incur while commuting to and from work. The program is in alignment with and supports Santa Clara University’s commitment to sustainability. You may change your monthly contributions between the 1st-10th of each month. 

  • Maximum Monthly Election: $315

Please reach out to Human Resources for further questions.

In an effort to encourage electric vehicle (EV) drivers to share EV charging spaces across campus and offset our operational costs, we will be reactivating the following pricing plan at each of our ChargePoint stations starting January 1, 2024

Electric Vehicle Charging Policies and Procedures:

  • A ChargePoint account will be required to charge at any ChargePoint station. 
  • All ChargePoint users will be charged for electricity used to charge their vehicle.
  • EV owners are required to display a valid SCU parking permit while using the stations or be subject to a parking citation. 
  • EVs must be actively charging when parked in EV spaces. 
  • After four hours of charging, the vehicle must be moved or will be subject to a citation and overtime fees. After four (4) hours of charging, the vehicle must be moved, even if the vehicle is not fully charged.

SCU Constituents (current SCU students, faculty & staff) Pricing:

$2.00 per hour

Overtime Fee: $5.00 per hour after 30-minute grace period (while plugged in and fully charged)

Non-SCU Constituents Pricing: 

$3.00 per hour 

Overtime Fee: $8.00 per hour after 30-minute grace period (while plugged in and fully charged)

A day permit, visitor permit or pay and display permit is required to park in any SCU parking garage or lot. Rate information may be found here

Please refer to the ChargePoint app for comparison rates. 

Our EV Charging Stations (EVCS) have been a great resource for our campus community to recharge their vehicles before leaving campus. Revenue generated at EVCS will offset the costs of utilities, the deployment of new EVCS, infrastructure, service maintenance, ChargePoint cloud support services, and will hopefully encourage fair use of the charging stations across campus. 

Here is a Campus Map for your convenience that indicates the location of each EVCS on campus.