By Katherine Gibson (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: April 10, 2013
For students spending thousands of dollars each semester on tuition and textbooks, having to pay each time they park on campus can seem incredibly frustrating and unfair.
On the other hand, Impark also works to ensure those parking within their lots have access to various forms of assistance.
One of the main forms of help that Impark provides is seen through the Parker Pete (PP) program, a service that offers car aid to any individual choosing to park at UFV campuses.
Signs in several parking lots around campus advertise these services and offer a toll-free number that drivers can call should they need assistance.
“‘Parker Pete’ assists any individual whose car has a dead battery, flat tire or those who are in need of a little bit of gas for their vehicles,” an operator working for PP explained.
Despite the fact that other pay parking lots include aid to individuals who have locked themselves out of their cars, or “locked outs,” UFV’s PP program does not include this function.
‘“Locked outs’ is a service that is not covered for parking lots at any [UFV] campus,” the PP operator continued. “Toll companies are reimbursed for their services and the contract between the [PP] toll company and Impark does not include reimbursement for this [“locked out”] feature.”
The lack of this function is slightly confusing, since advertising for the PP program both on signage and on UFV’s website implies that the “locked out” function is a part of the service – showing icons of a key as well as a gas pump, a sad-faced battery and a flat tire.
However, as the PP operator points out, the applicable functions of the program are clearly written out on PP signage.
Any student in need of PP’s assistance needs only to call 1-877-771-PETE (7383), which is also listed on the Impark signs at UFV’s parking lots.
