Frequently Asked Questions

Parking on campus requires either a valid USD parking e-permit or meter payment from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., Monday through Friday. This rule also applies to vehicles displaying an ADA placard or license plate. You can purchase your e-permit on our USD parking website. Please review our step-by-step instructions on how to purchase an e-permit.

• MPS (Main Parking Structure)
• WPS, W1, and W2 (West Parking Structure, West Parking Lot, Gravel Lot)
• E6 (Manchester Village Field Lot) and E3 (Jenny Craig Pavilion West Lot)

NOTE: No Student, Faculty, or Staff may park in N4 (Immaculata West) at any time.

Meter Payment Always Required
The following areas always require meter payment, even if you have a valid USD permit:

• Torero Way
• E11 (Alcala Vistas/Sports Center)
• ParkMobile zones 1916, 1917, and 1918

Full-time, benefit-based employees may pay for permits with pre-tax payroll deduction over a 9-month or 12-month period.

Students who charge their permit to their student accounts may be eligible to pay for their permit in an installment plan over five months in the Fall and five months in the Spring, depending on when the permit is charged. You must contact Student Accounts to set up a payment plan.

No. USD first-year resident students are not allowed to bring cars to campus.

As the University of San Diego increases its efforts to be sustainable and care for our common home (the planet), we have decided to decrease the number of cars traveling to and from campus. As first year students, living on campus supports your academic growth, personal development and well-being. As such, the vast majority of needs can be met right on Alcalá Park!

If you are looking for a medical exception, please email wellness@sandiego.edu

First-year resident students with a medical or disability related need, or those with off campus jobs with proof of consistent employment may apply for an exception.

We sell temporary permits at the rate of $40/week to faculty, staff, and eligible USD students. These temporary permits can be purchased online.

Please review the step-by-step instructions on how to add and link vehicles to your permit.

IMPORTANT: Only one vehicle under your e-permit is allowed to park on campus at a time.

For new vehicles or vehicles without a license plate, please use your temporary plate number or select “Last 8 of VIN” from the 'State' dropdown menu, then enter the last eight digits of your VIN (Vehicle Identification Number) in the 'License Plate' field. Once you receive the permanent license plates for your vehicle, you must log in to your parking portal and add the permanent license plate information to your account.

To find the detailed policy on parking permit returns, including refund deadlines and any potential fees, please refer to USD's Parking Rules and Regulations.

For an on campus emergency a Public Safety escort is also provided from dusk till dawn for the safety of anyone walking alone on campus at night. If you call (619) 260-7777, dial x7777 from a campus phone, or pick up the phone handset, one of the emergency phones (denoted by a blue light on top), an escort can be summoned to your location and will accompany you to any location on campus or within a one-mile radius of campus.

On campus

• Tram Services - on campus, the university provides tram services that operate Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. You can download the MySanDiego app to see their locations or by using this LINK.

Off campus

• Zipcars- For off campus exploration, you may use a Zipcar. These vehicles are conveniently located both behind the Hahn University Center and in the Valley, residential area.
  • Zipcars are available 24/7. USD vehicles live right on campus! This program provides access via self-service and vehicles are on-demand with the keys inside!
  • The program offers discounted hourly rates for faculty, staff and students age 18 and older
  • Gas, insurance, maintenance and 180 miles per day are included for free in every reservation!
  • Learn more and get started on the Zipcar website
• Metropolitan Transit System Bus and Trolley - USD is located just up the hill from the Morena/Linda Vista Trolley stop on the MTS Trolley Green Line. The Old Town Transit Center is also close by, making our campus easy to access by public transportation. For more information, please visit the website.
• Ride Share

For more information, please visit the Alternative Transportation page.

After 7 p.m. you may park on the main campus.

Yes, designated spaces in E8 (Manchester Family Development Center) will not require a permit to drop off and pick up children. These spots have a 15-minute time limit.

Yes, there will be carpool spaces in MPS (Main Parking Structure), S9 (Saint's West/Hughes East), G1 (the Kroc Institute garage), and G2 (SOLES garage).

Yes, University Invited Guests include those invited to campus for a specific purpose by faculty/staff or other campus authorities, guest speakers for classes, trustees attending a board meeting and invited external groups.

The following locations are reserved for University Invited Guests on a first-come, first-serve basis.

• MPS
• S7 (KIPJ South Lot)

Meter rates for university invited guest are $3 per hour, with a 4-hour minimum, or $21 per day. Payment may be made by the sponsoring department or by the guest. Please contact Parking Services for more information.

For additional information, please visit the University Invited Guests page on our website.

General visitors may, pay at a pay station or use ParkMobile, to park in MPS (Main Parking Structure) and WPS (West Parking Structure).

All paid parking areas at USD operate as pay-by-plate. This means that a license plate number is required when making a payment at the pay station. It may be helpful to take a picture of your license plate after you park your vehicle.

For parking meter rates and additional information, please visit the General Visitors page on our website.

The rates for parking on campus are as follows:

All of our pay stations accept coins and credit/debit cards. You can also use the Pay-by-Phone app, ParkMobile. A small transaction fee of $0.40 is added to each ParkMobile transaction. Please note that when paying with coins, no change will be given by the pay station.

Pay-by-Plate means that instead of entering your space number when making your payment at a pay station, you will enter your license plate number. It may be helpful to take a picture of your license plate with your smartphone. Once payment is made at a pay station or using the ParkMobile app, Parking Services enforcement staff receives the information on their wireless handheld devices.

Once you have made your payment at a pay station, or using the ParkMobile app, there is no need to return to your vehicle to place anything on your vehicle's dashboard.

Yes, all machines are capable of issuing receipts after each transaction.

You may pay a citation online, by mail, or in-person within 21 days from the citation issue date.

If you wish to appeal your citation, you must appeal before paying. Appeals cannot be filed once the citation has been paid. All appeals must be submitted online, within 21 days from the citation issue date. We are unable to accept appeals via email, phone call, or in-person.

Once you submit an appeal through our online system, the original deadline no longer stands. There is no need to pay the citation while you await the results of your appeal. Should your appeal be denied, you will be given a new due date for payment of your citation.

For additional information, please visit the Citations and Appeals page.

We offer re-appeals for individuals whose first appeal was denied. If you would like to contest an appeal decision, USD offers a re-appeal process for students, which is overseen by the Associated Student Government (ASG). To qualify for a re-appeal you must pay your citation in full and submit a request for re-appeal within 7 days of your first level appeal result, and then appear in Traffic Court to present your case to the committee. If your re-appeal is granted in the Traffic Court Hearing, your citation fine will be refunded. Traffic Court sessions are conducted on Zoom on specific dates throughout the semester.

For additional information, please visit the Re-Appeal Citation page.