Parking & Transportation Services has implemented many parking improvements designed to reduce frustration with finding a parking space, better customer service, and effective communication to all of those who park on campus. These updates will affect everyone parking on campus. The following are the significant changes that have been implemented this year:

Current lot designations will be changed from the current letter designations (R, SB, E, F, etc.) to animals indigenous to Montana. When purchasing your permit, please note that the registration is only valid in the corresponding animal lots. For example, if you purchase Bobcat registration, it will only allow you to park in any lot designated as Bobcat. If you are familiar with the previous lot numbers, those will not change. All lots will have a monument-type sign (similar to the monument signs outside NAH) at each lot entrance indicating the type of permit required and the enforcement hours. Overhead signs will also be mounted to lot light poles to indicate the lot permit designation and lot number for easy identification. 

Previous Permit Designation New Permit Designation and Lot Numbers
R1 Eagle: 16
R2 Trout: 17
R3, R6 Elk: 19, 24
R4 Permanently Closed
R7, R8, R9 Wolf: 7, S. 8th Ave (S. side)
SB Bobcat: 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 15, 18, various street parking
E Bison: 1, 2, 8, 9, 22, 26, 27
Lincoln F Lot Moose: 21
Stadium F Lots Bobcat Lot: 20, 25
Garage Garage
Family and Graduate Housing Fox

View the MSU Parking Map for reference.

View the MSU Parking Map and easy-to-read parking guide for directions to park on campus.

Each lot will have a single permit designation. Therefore, the clutter of individual stall signs will no longer be needed. Signs currently located around lot perimeters and inside portions of lots will be removed. This will greatly enhance the aesthetic of each lot, while reducing the significant cost of sign maintenance and eliminating parking confusion. Special individual reserved parking signs will remain in place, as necessary, in their current lot locations.

Parking & Transportation Services will continue to honor drivers with previously reserved permits. Drivers currently holding a reserved permit will be granted a priority purchase opportunity. Those on the waitlist will be given secondary priority. It is anticipated that parking opportunities near the core of campus will be expanded to accommodate most, if not all, drivers seeking premium parking.

You are encouraged to use the Parking & Transportation Services website to purchase commuter and resident permits online in order to avoid the line at the Parking & Transportation Services office. Be sure to update your vehicle information and tie all vehicles to your new permit. This can all be done on your parking portal here: https://msu.t2hosted.com/cmn/auth_ext.aspx.

The ability to find a parking space will be easier. The number of permits sold for each parking permit designation will be limited based on historical lot turnover. In the past, standard commuter and resident permits were sold in unlimited numbers. This created oversell rates as high as 100% beyond available spaces. Permit oversell rates will be capped depending on the permit type and number of parking spaces available for each permit designation. These percentages are based on parking turnover and permit price for each lot designation.

Parking permit hangtags will no longer be needed. Your license plate will be your permit. License plate reading (LPR) technology will be used for parking enforcement with cameras mounted on parking enforcement vehicles that will read license plates and identify permit status. Drivers must ensure that their license plate is visible from the drive lane while parked on campus. This will greatly enhance parking enforcement efficiency while encouraging compliance with parking permit requirements. The LPR system only accesses parking permit information from the plate number, so please be sure to update your license plate regularly and accurately to avoid a citation.

Multiple vehicles may be registered under a single permit, however, only one vehicle may be parked on campus at a time.

The garage will continue to offer visitor parking. However, visitor parking will be expanded to the north side of campus on sections of Harrison Street and the south side of campus in the Bobcat 20 and 25 lots. These areas will be designated with the appropriate visitor parking signs. Please see http://www.montana.edu/parking/directions.html for all visitor parking information.

Visitors may pay for hourly and daily parking via the Passport Pay-by-App. Areas accepting the Pay-by-App option will be identified by the Passport signs indicating the zone number for the parking lot. Drivers will be notified via text message before time expires, giving the purchaser the opportunity to extend parking time without the need to return to the vehicle. This will also prevent the need to visit Parking & Transportation Services to buy a daily permit. Special event parking can also be added to a zone to reflect discounted or free department sponsored parking, as applicable. This option will be similar to using a coupon code in the garage that we currently offer. We encourage you to download the Passport parking app from your app store or at ppprk.com. 

Visitors who prefer to pay with cash or check will be able to purchase parking at Parking & Transportation Services. 

Drivers will receive parking and special event information via our new radio station, 1610 AM. The station will be used to provide visitors and commuters with information relevant to their campus visit. Campus departments wishing to broadcast event specific information may contact Parking & Transportation Services at parkingservices@montana.edu.

Information content transmitted over the station must be approved by University Communications.

The Parking & Transportation Services staff has been restructured to better meet the needs of our commuters and visitors. A customer service department has been recently created to improve the campus parking experience. Expect to see Parking & Transportation Services information assistants walking the parking lots to answer any questions you may have about parking during the first few weeks of the semester.

Those with state-issued ADA parking hangtags will be able to park in any ADA parking space on campus with the purchase of any campus permit. We will register those individuals in our system as ADA permit holders and their license plate will be read by our LPR system as having a campus and ADA permit. We encourage those with ADA permission to continue displaying their hangtag to comply with federal ADA regulations. With the removal of ADA spaces in front of Roberts Hall due to construction of the American Indian Hall, we will be increasing the number of ADA spaces in the lots closest to the core of campus.

Parking along the east curb of South 7th Avenue between Kagy Blvd and Grant Street has been removed to accommodate a bike lane. This will eliminate bike traffic on the pedestrian sidewalk and will make biking on South 7th Avenue safer. Special thanks to University Services and the Office of Sustainability for making this important safety improvement possible.

The Bobcat 20 and 25 lots and the Moose lot will see improvement over the next two years. Asphalt, lighting, and security cameras will be installed to enhance the remote parking experience.

 

FAQs

We will cap each permit designation and sell on a first-come-first-serve basis. We will sell the same amount of permits as last year, but they will be dispersed among each designation.

Yes, you are able to downgrade your permit; however, no refund will be applied.

Not at this time.

When you purchase a parking permit, your license plate becomes your permit for the academic year. Please be sure to have your accurate license plate attached to your permit in your parking portal. 

Parking & Transportation Services has mounted license plate readers on the parking vehicles that will scan each license plate as enforcement officers drive through lots. If a plate is not attached to a permit, is not accurate, or the permit is only valid in another lot designation, a citation will be issued. 

Permits can be purchased by visiting your parking portal through Myinfo, through the permit page on our parking website, or in person at the Parking & Transportation Services office (Grant and S. 7th Ave, 100 Swingle Building). We encourage all purchasers to buy online to avoid the line.

Correct. Your accurate license plate will have to be displayed at all times, but a hangtag will not. 

One permit can be shared between multiple vehicles as long as there is only one vehicle on campus at a time. You can add your vehicles to your permit through your parking portal or by emailing us at parkingservices@montana.edu.

Yes, but only if all vehicles tied to the permit are in the list of LEED v. 4 45+ vehicles on the LEED Qualified Vehicle List and approved through our request form.

You can be added to a waitlist for Bobcat, and/or purchase an Elk, Wolf, or Garage permit if they are available.

ADA permit holders will have continued access to all ADA spaces on campus as long as they also have an MSU parking permit. For example, an ADA validation and Bobcat permit will grant the driver access to all Bobcat permits and any ADA space on campus. ADA permit holders will be asked to bring in their state issued handicap permit or registration when purchasing their MSU parking permit so that we can register their plate in our system. 

We will continue to honor Retiree parking permits and will register all retired employees in our license plate reading system. Current retired parking permits are valid until August 31, 2027, and allow permit holders to park in any Bobcat lot. We ask that all retired permit holders continue to park in these lots until we reach out with more information.

No. Visitors will only be able to park in visitor areas which are 30 minute spots, the garage, along Harrison street, and the Bobcat 20 and 25 lots.

It is not prohibited at this time, but it is a pay-by-the-hour area. No parking designation is valid in visitor areas.

We look forward to this transition on campus and appreciate your patience while we do our best to make attending and visiting MSU Bozeman as enjoyable as possible!