Affordable. Convenient. Less stressful. Local and regional transit to get you throughout the city, to the beach, shopping, or the areas in the county. Get on the bus and rest your mind.
Looking for carpool options? IRideshare can help match you with an existing carpool or individual looking to carpool. Additional incentives and rewards are available to all faculty and staff who are "registered" at iRideshare.
Limited residential parking permits are available for eligible campus resident students. Residential parking permits are sold via Academic Progress. Resident parking areas are the only parking areas on campus where overnight parking is permitted.
All students choosing to park on campus are encouraged to read the Parking Rules and Regulations prior to purchasing a permit and parking on campus.
On-campus residents are NOT allowed to purchase or use daily, weekly or quarterly parking permits. Residents displaying general parking permits are subject to citation. Permits are non-transferrable.
Resident Parking Rates
Permit Type
Resident Permit (on-campus resident student)
Annual
$600.00
2018-2019 Permit Eligibility
Permits will be available for purchase beginning August 16, 2017 for on campus residents in the order of highest academic progress level to the lowest (IV to II). You can find your Academic Progress level on Poly Profile, under the Academic Progress heading. Once all permits are committed for a lot or structure, students will have the opportunity to add their name to the permit waitlist established at the start of the academic year. Freshman residents will not be able to add themselves to the waitlist.
First-Time Freshman Parking Policy
Cal Poly first-year resident students are prohibited from bringing vehicles to campus for the entire duration of their first year (fall through spring quarters). This includes students who have enough credits to be considered sophomores. First-year resident students are not eligible to purchase any campus parking permits including daily, weekly and quarterly permits.
We realize that first-year students will want to take advantage of the many activities available off-campus as part of their college experience. A number of sustainable transportation options are available for all Cal Poly students include: Zipcar, PolyRides, bike racks and bike lockers, taxi/Uber/Lyft, SLO transit (free with Cal Poly ID!), RTA bus and Amtrak bus.
First-year resident students with an extraordinary situation may apply for an exception to the above policy.
Guidelines for restricting first-year students from bringing vehicles to campus have been established at a large majority of California Universities including UC Berkeley, UC Davis, UCLA, UC Merced, UC Santa Cruz, UC San Diego, Stanford and Santa Clara University.
Interpretation and Enforcement of this Policy
We ask that students comply with the spirit of this policy by not bringing vehicles to San Luis Obispo. Cal Poly works with its neighbors to reduce traffic flow and students are expected to help Cal Poly be a good neighbor. Most surrounding streets and neighborhoods require a City parking permit that are limited to the property owner or authorized recipient who currently reside within the residential district boundaries.
Exception Process
A limited number of spaces have been allocated to accommodate first-year residents who demonstrate a compelling need or who would suffer undue hardship under the First-Year Resident Parking Policy. Exception requests require appropriate justification for approval. The link to the exception application will be posted below beginning August 6, 2018.
Exceptions will be reviewed by a committee consisting of a diverse group of staff and student representatives. Granted exceptions will be kept to a minimum. Committee decisions are considered final. Exception requests must be approved prior to bringing a vehicle to campus.
To submit a request for an exception, complete the application and submit during the application window. Applications will only be accepted during the application window. Applications submitted after the application window or incomplete will not be reviewed.
2018/2019 Academic Year Apllication Process time line
Application Open
Monday, August 6
Application Due
Sunday August 19 at 11:59 pm
Committee Review
Monday, August 20 - Friday, August 31
Decisions Emailed
By end of day Friday, August 31
Application Tips
There are few reasons that students would receive an exception automatically. Exceptions will be granted for active military status and an approved accommodation for personal medical needs.
All other reasons require justification, will be reviewed by committee and considered on a case by case basis:
Care of a family member
Employment or Internship
Participation in extracurricular activities
Religious practices
Vehicle ownership
Other special considerations
Personal Medical Needs
Students that require support for temporary disabilities (injuries) or continuing disabilities/challenges must register with the Cal Poly Disability Resource Center (DRC) to be considered for a parking exception. Students in this category do not need to submit an exception application with Transportation and Parking Services.
Parking Waitlist
The parking waitlist is a first-come, first-served process. Parking permit awards via the waitlist are made based on availability within the parking area with a definitive purchase time frame to purchase. All parking permits awarded via waitlist are sold online only.
First time freshman student residents are not eligible to join the waitlist.
The waitlists will be moved at a regular interval. Notification is made via parking e-mail and offered the opportunity to purchase a permit.
Steps to add to a resident waitlist
If you are eligible to add to a waitlist below are the steps to add:
