San José State’s surrounding streets are cramped with hundreds of cars, limited parking, and ongoing construction, making commuting to campus difficult for students and staff.
Across SJSU-related social media boards, such as SJSU’s Sammy App, students are expressing difficulty finding parking and locating affordable transportation options.
Parking permits for commuter students were raised, with semester permits starting at $220, and academic year permits starting at $440, according to the SJSU Parking Services permit webpage.
Erick Thompson, an SJSU Spartan Bookstore employee, said he relies on public transportation to get to campus for work, rather than using a car.
“I take the VTA public bus,” said Thompson. “Though, if there’s bad weather or holidays, I’d have to Uber.”
Thompson said he pays $5 for a round trip from work to home, while taking an Uber costs him between $7 and $14, depending on the distance and time.
The average cost of an adult single ride is $2.50, while a day pass using Clipper is $7.50, according to the VTA fares webpage.
Compared to using public transportation, Uber prices vary depending on the distance of travel.
Price estimates are available on Uber’s website, but can be much more expensive than VTA prices and at times, unreliable due to different riding tiers offered.
Thompson said taking public transportation is helpful, but traffic gets congested when leaving from campus because students leave at the same time.
Although these costs can add up, SJSU offers the Associated Students SmartPass Clipper card for both students and employees, according to the A.S. Transportation Solutions webpage.
“Congestion getting out of the parking lots around campus is noticeable,” Thompson said. “It can take as much as five minutes longer just to get to a freeway entrance, which is mostly just a minor inconvenience.”
An SJSU One ID or SJSU tower card is required to purchase one, which costs starting at $25, according to the SJSU Parking Services webpage.
In the most recent months, SJSU Parking Services has worked to improve its transportation services for students who are traveling from off campus.
South Campus Garage, located on the corner of South 10th Street and Alma Street, offers a rotating shuttle between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m.
Monday through Thursday, moving students from the garage to Duncan Hall at the main campus, according to the Parking Services shuttle service webpage.
The shuttle is recommended when parking and traffic congestion get too complicated for students and faculty, and is promoted in a video on the Parking Services webpage.
Eric Cross, SJSU parking manager, said shuttles are added at the beginning of the year to assist in transporting students from South Campus to Duncan Hall of Science.
“We bring in additional staff to help direct traffic into our parking facilities,” said Cross. “We direct traffic along the Seventh Street Corridor to help vehicles navigate the Seventh Street and San Salvador Street intersection.”
Cross said that notifications about parking and traffic were sent out at the beginning of the semester.
Administration Interim Vice President Shawn Whalen sent out an email through the university communications team regarding transportation options, as well as parking, on Aug. 14, as well as emphasizing the use of the South Campus garage and its shuttle service.
“At the beginning of the academic year, students can anticipate very heavy traffic,” Cross said.
Although SJSU Parking Services still works to improve the commute for students, some still say that costs are expensive and at times can be unreliable.
Sunny Walia, a management information systems major and fourth-year student, drives to school from southeast San José, costing him about $50 for gas each week.
Walia said he’s noticed the surge in traffic starting at the beginning of the semester and still dragging into the next month.
“There’s been days where it’s taken me 30-50 minutes just to get to the parking garage,” Walia said.
Aside from parking and traffic, street construction also adds to the difficulty of commuting to campus, partially because of plans for nearby streets in the upcoming months.
Most construction updates are provided on the City of San José Transportation website to improve bike lanes for residents and ways to make the streets safer to travel on, but driving can be unpredictable without prior notice.
Walia also said he had ideas of how SJSU Parking Services could help to aid the traffic and parking congestion students face.
“Some suggestions I had come up with peers, were additional parking lots, or a collaboration with the ParkSJ garages to allow spots to college students,” said Walia.
Currently, SJSU has no plans to build more parking or collaborate with outside groups to address the difficulty, but rather build new and renovate facilities and buildings, according to the 2024 SJSU campus master plan documents.
