The Georgia Southern University Parking and Transportation Office made over a half a million dollars in revenue from last year’s parking citations.

Kristi Bryant, parking and transportation director, said GS issued 32,044 parking tickets between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.

From those tickets, Bryant said, GS made $567,348 with revenue from citations remaining steady from previous years.

Shivanee Patel, sophomore psychology major, said she believed the ticketing system is fair. However, she does not agree with the amount that GS had made from parking citations.

“I feel like that’s a huge number but at that point it’s just like they’re looking for someone to ticket,” Patel said.

Parking violations

There are 21 parking violations listed on the GS Parking and Transportation website. The prices can range anywhere between $10 to $50.

Out of the 21 parking violations, Bryant said the most common citation is not having a valid parking pass which is a $35 fine.

Parking passes can be purchased online at the GS Parking and Transportation website. Students can purchase commuter lot permits for $160 or student carpooling permits for $100.

Bryant said, the second most common citation is parking in the wrong area, such as faculty and guest parking, which is a $30 fine.

According to the GS Parking and Transportation website, any vehicle may park in any designated commuter or ungated faculty/staff lot from 4:00 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. not including spaces designated for directors of residence halls, reserved parking, disabled, service & delivery and resident parking lots.

Where does the money go?

Genieva Watson, junior biology major, said the amount of money GS earned in the past year was “ridiculous.”

Bryant said the revenue goes toward “funding all aspects of Parking & Transportation, such as daily maintenance, re-engineering, re-designing, lighting, etc. of all parking areas.”

When told what the revenue from citations went toward, Watson questioned, “Why do they need all that money?”

Correction: A previous version of this article mentioned the times that parking was allowed on campus for most parking lots was from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., however, the correct times are from 4 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. The George-Anne regrets this mistake.