(This article was prepared by the staff of the Campus Police Parking and Traffic Division and the Planning Office.)
As announced in the May 3, 1995, issue of MIT Tech Talk, the parking permit fee will be raised to $300 a year, effective in January 1996. For the period of January to September 1996, the parking permit fee will be $150 and beginning September 1996 the fee will be $300 a year.
Existing permits will be honored until next January when the new fee becomes effective. Individuals who have valid MIT permits for the 1994-95 Academic Year do not need to do anything now.
New members of the MIT community who do not have parking permits and need one should contact the appropriate office below:
- Faculty and staff should contact their department parking coordinator to determine eligibility.
- Commuting graduate students should get a parking application from their graduate student administrator or department parking coordinator.
- Resident graduate students should contact the Housing Office, Rm E32-200.
- Undergraduate students in independent living groups should contact Neal Dorow in the Residence and Campus Activities office, Rm W20-549.
- Undergraduate students living in Institute dormitories should contact the Parking and Traffic Division, MIT Campus Police, Rm W31-215, x3-7276 or x8-6510.
GARAGE SECURITY UPGRADES
As part of its program to upgrade security at parking facilities, major improvements have recently been completed at Albany Garage. The improvements include a card-access gate control system that uses the MIT Card, upgraded lighting, new emergency phones and security cameras on every level of the garage, and new windows in the stairwells to improve visibility.
Similar improvements are scheduled for the West Garage this fall. There will be minimal disruption to service during these renovations, and commuters who park in the garage will be provided with further information and schedules before the start of construction. Once the improvements in the West Garage are completed, permit holders will need to use their MIT Card to enter and exit the garage.
Information about how, when and where to obtain the MIT Card will be provided by the Card Office. Commuters are advised not to leave their cards in their cars, particularly in the summer months because extreme heat will damage the card and render it unusable.
RIDESOURCE
For members of the MIT who travel to campus every day, resources other than individual cars are available to make the commute easier or more convenient. One of them is RideSource, a computerized ride matching service offered through the Charles River Transportation Management Association (TMA), a group of private and public organizations in the east Cambridge area, including MIT.
When you complete a RideSource form, you are entered into a database of people commuting to the Cambridgeport area who are interested in carpooling or vanpooling. RideSource matches you with people who live close to you and produces a list of their names and phone numbers, which is mailed to you. You can then contact the people on the list to arrange your own carpool or vanpool. You will also be matched with existing vanpools that have space available for additional riders.
In addition, your RideSource report will have information about MBTA commuter trains and private bus companies that carry commuters from the town you live in to Boston, where you can connect to the subway to get to MIT. RideSource forms are available at The Source, the desk on the ground floor of the Student Center. For more information, call Elizabeth Moore, coordinator of the Charles River TMA, at 499-4614.
T PASSES
MBTA passes are on sale at the MIT Cashier's Office, Rm 10-180, on the last four working days of each month. Beginning with the November 1995 T-pass sales, the Cashier's Office will also sell monthly passes for commuter rail zones 3-9. Anyone interested in buying a pass through MIT for these zones should inform the Cashier's Office.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on August 30, 1995.
