By Brenda Servin |Staff Writer|

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CSUSB has switched from hang tag to repositionable windshield decal permits as of summer 2013.

CSUSB has used hang tags for the past least eight years.

One of the main reasons for the change is the fact that it is illegal to drive with a hang tag.

Legally, you are not allowed to drive with anything on your windshield that could obstruct your view.

You are allowed to have a hang tag while your car is parked, just not while driving.

Another reason for the permit change is to improve the visibility because they would all be placed on the same location, the bottom left area of the windshield.

In some cases the windshield sun visor strip would block the view of hang tag permits resulting in citations for those students.

Thieves may not notice the sticker or not want to take the time to remove it unlike the hang tag which would be easier to clip off, making them harder to steal and transfer.

CSUSB student, Chris Bryan said, “I’ll put it on once and won’t take it off again, so I don’t really have an issue with it.”

The permits are made of a triplex material to be able to withstand the heat and prevent them from curling off.

CSUSB student, Amanda Tapia said, “I like the hanging permits better because it’s easier for me to remove. I know you can still peel off the sticker but I feel that over time it will lose its magnetic force.”

The windshield permits were designed to be removable.

If for some reason the permit no longer sticks to the windshield, students will be able to get a new one from parking services free of charge.

The new permits are thinner and smaller allowing parking services to save a couple hundred dollars on shipping.

Deloren West, parking services operation supervisor said that the money from permit sales goes directly into parking operations.

“It goes to pay the two parking structures, the bond we have on those which is about $2 million and then it goes to pay for lot maintenance, repairs, salaries, goes into the electricity bills for the lighting and the structures, the lots and everything like that because parking is an auxiliary so we don’t get any money from the state,” she said.

West continued, “We don’t get any money from tuition. All the money parking has comes from the sales of parking permits and we’re able to use that to basically upkeep all the parking operations.”

On the CSUSB parking services website, under the about us section, is a link entitled, “Where Your Money Goes.”

This link displays pie charts to show the expenses and revenue that is gathered by Parking Services.

The sticker permits are also easier to scan because they are up against the windshield

Parking services asks students to place their parking permits on the bottom left corner which would be the driver’s side to keep up the consistency.

Anyone who places their permit on a different area will be given a notice to place it on the correct area.

Students who fail to follow the notice will be given official warnings and then eventually will receive a citation.

It should be known that the money CSUSB receives from parking citations legally cannot be used for parking operations, it goes to pay for and promote the Ride Share program, van pools, carpools and any alternative form of transportation.

The parking permit changed for safety legal reasons and to make them more accessible for parking services to scan.