Permit types - which permit is right for me?
Background
We are aware that due to changes in working patterns and commuting methods brought on by the COVID-19 restrictions, users may need to look at changing their parking permit. So which permit is right for you? Firstly, we will look at each of the two main permits available in detail and then we can help you to determine which one might be best for you. Other permits available are for very specific purposes only and further information can be found on our webpages.
Annual Permit
Annual Permits are valid 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They are usually paid for through salary deduction (University of Exeter Staff) or through an annual upfront payment. When displaying this permit there is no need to do anything else, jsut ensure you park in a marked permit holder bay, or a car share bay if after 0930. They are valid for 1 year from the date of issue unless stated otherwise at the time of application. The charges applied for this permit vary depending on who is applying, and the rates can be found on our rates pages. Annual permit rates for part time employees of the University of Exeter only will be pro-rata'd down depending on your FTE - if you only work a 0.5FTE contract, your permit will be half the price. These permits generally suit those who either wish to pay through salary (UofE employees only), who park frequently on our campuses, or who like the convenience of not having to pay everytime they park. These permits are priced based on salary (for UofE employees) and by emissions.
Authority To Park (ATP) permits
These are permits which are also valid 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and allow the holder to park in any marked permit holder bay, or a car share bay if after 0930, however these permits require you to pay as you go. There is no upfront cost for the permit, but between the hours of 0800 - 1800 Mon - Fri you have to pay a daily rate for parking on campus. This rate is currently £2 for all users. These permits are best suited to those who want to spread the cost of parking but cannot use the salary deduction scheme, or those who park infrequently on campus because they are using alternative means of transport, or because they work mostly from home.
It should be noted that the permit is allocated to the vehicle and not the applicant, so if you use more than one vehicle then you will need more than one permit. For example, you can get an annual permit for your main vehicle, but if perhaps once in a while you use your spouse's vehicle then you can get an ATP for that one so you only have to pay when you use it.
Which permit?
Which permit you should use is very dependant on your circumstances, and so you need to make this decision prior to applying. However there are circumstances whereby one permit rather than another may benefit you, and this is usually down to cost. The other reasons why a permit might benefit you are described above.
The key thing to consider when choosing a permit is how much you park on the campus. You can calculate how many days a week you will be parking on campus - for a member of staff parking 5 days a week all year this is usually around 220 days (taking off weekends and holiday). You can then look up what your annual permit charge would be (multiplied by your FTE figure), and divide this by the number of days. If the result comes out less than 2 then an annual permit will be better value, if above 2 then an ATP will work out cheaper.
Example A
A full-time member of staff works 4 days a week on campus and 1 day a week from home, is a grade E and has a vehicle with emissions of 125gCO²/km. They are likely to park on campus 176 days per year (52 weeks minus 8 weeks holiday = 44 weeks, multiplied by 4 days per week). The price to them of an annual permit is £292 (Grade E with a middle emissions vehicle, multiplied by 1 FTE). 292 divided by 176 = £1.66 per day. This is cheaper than the £2 per day ATP charge and so an annual permit is better value.
Example B
A part-time member of staff on a 0.6 FTE contract, works 1 day a week on campus and 2 from home, is a grade C and has a vehicle with emissions of 144gCO²/km. They are likely to work on campus 44 days per year (52 weeks minus 8 weeks holiday = 44 weeks, multiplied by 1 day per week). The price to them of an annual permit is £108 (Grade C with a high emissions vehicle, multiplied by 0.6 FTE). 108 divided by 44 = £2.45 per day. This is more expensive than the £2 per day ATP charge and so an ATP permit is better value.
It is important to remember for University of Exeter staff that the number of hours you are contracted to work is irrelevant - the permit price is automatically adjusted by payroll to take account of this. The key thing in making your decision is your effective daily rate, which is directly affected by the number of days you might work on campus.
If you have any queries please contact the parking team for further advice.