Campus Life: Parking costs take their toll

By Zoe Robbins

Students at Swinburne University are struggling to afford on campus parking, and some say it is compromising their studies.

The Hawthorn campus has some of the highest parking rates of any university in Melbourne's middle and outer suburbs. At $10 per day, Swinburne’s parking fees are double the average daily fees offered by fellow universities Deakin Burwood, Monash Clayton, RMIT Bundoora and Victoria University Footscray (ranging from $4-$6.40 per day). Parking is free for students at RMIT Brunswick.

Prices for parking permits are also disparate. For all students at RMIT Brunswick, and residential students at Monash Clayton, permits are free. Monash also employs pay as you use permits. Deakin Burwood and RMIT Bundoora offer annual permits at $365 and $242, respectively. Swinburne parking permits are approximately 500% more expensive annually, at $145-$176 per month. 

Swinburne student Maddy Gwynne is outraged by the difference in these prices.

“Students should have free parking or at least a discounted rate,” she said.

For Ms Gwynne, who lives in Phillip Island, a public transport commute is five hours each way. Driving to campus is her only viable option. 

But, like many other Swinburne students, she is deterred by the parking garage fees. Instead, she seeks on-street parking nearby.

“I park a couple of blocks away, and walk about 15 minutes to uni,” she said.

“I would rather walk than end up spending hundreds of dollars on parking.” 

Ms Gwynne said street parking vacancies could, however, be unreliable, and she’s sometimes late to class because she can’t find a spot.

“I just keep on driving, doing circles and blockies…hoping someone pulls out,” she said.

A two-hour parking restriction exists on most streets surrounding the Hawthorn campus. Students often have to compromise class time to move their cars, impacting their learning.

Student residents who live on campus are not spared from this expense. 

Many want to keep their cars nearby for weekend trips home or commuting to part-time jobs. Being ineligible for a council-issued parking permit, they must pay the monthly permit fee. This, on top of the recently increased board, heightens financial burdens.

The attendant of the multilevel garage at Swinburne, Alex Luis, promotes the permits.

“If you’re going to be here four or five days a week, it's definitely worth it,” he said.

This permit would equate to a minimum of $1,160 for the academic year, excluding holidays.

While Swinburne administers these permits, the garage is privately owned by the company CarePark.

“It’s all about revenue,” Mr Luis says, describing the garage as “a hotspot” and “pretty full-on”.

Welfare Officer for Swinburne’s Student Union, Tess Robb, said there was an attempt to reduce parking prices back in 2022. 

“I brought it up with the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of Education … and she kind of just dismissed it and said that they don't really want to promote parking because they want to be more sustainable.”