With five weeks left this spring semester parking seems to keep frustrating students.
“I see no point in buying a parking pass. I can never find a good spot. It was a waste of money,” said Rachel Pena, student.
There are many parking spots that have been updated throughout the years such as the Panorama parking that now has 745 stalls available for students with permits.
Parking is located all around Bakersfield College and its surrounding areas.
Many students park by Kern Schools bank, others by the park, the apartments, and the Fastrip located on the corner of Mt. Vernon.
“I always park at the same spot everyday. I never bother looking because I’m not going to find anything close so I park at the empty lot by Fastrip,” said Diana Torres, student.
Parking passes at BC cost $35 and this allows students to park basically anywhere on campus except the staff parking stalls for the entire semester and there are also passes for a dollar that can be purchased for just one day.
Although students spend $35, some believe there aren’t any “good” parking spots left.
“I wish I never bought a stupid pass. I want my money back because I can never find any close parking or sometimes I need to park across the street,” said Richard Cruz, BC student.
On the other hand there are students who have not purchased a permit and are not planning on it.
“I don’t see the point. There are about 18,000 students on campus so why should I buy a pass. I rather just park down the street,” said Irma Cervantes.
BC offers free parking for students who do not want to buy day passes or semester permits. The free parking is located behind the baseball field at Haley and University, and there are 1,104 students’ stalls.
These are the farthest on-campus parking spots available but they are free. “I like the free parking, I never have to worry about getting tickets. Yes, they are pretty far and I have to walk a lot but I see it as good exercise,” said student Brittany Davis.
There are also students who don’t follow the rules and get punished with a $35 fine because they decide to park where permits are needed or in the staff stalls.
“I’m a rebel. I never follow rules. I have gotten three tickets this semester totaling $105 because I parked in staff stalls. But I mean those are always the closest,” said Brian Brown, student.
For the most part BC is trying to do what it can to help with the parking situation.
“We are trying to do our best with the whole parking situation and figure out ways to improve parking,” said BC senator Richard Villanueva
In total, there are 3,591 parking spots available and 121 are for disabled students, according to a campus map.