By Alexandria Adams

Chattanooga, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop)-  UTC provides students, faculty, and staff  a way to get to their destinations on campus quickly, safely, and free of charge.

The Mocs Express is a part of  the city of Chattanooga’s CARTA bus system. CARTA is Chattanooga’s public transit provider. Anyone with a validated UTC ID card can ride the bus.

UTC’s Mocs Express

Three buses run throughout the day, starting at 7:30 a.m. until 8:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“Generally, the  busiest times people are on the bus are between the hours of noon and four o’clock,” said CARTA driver Rhonda Albert. “The UC and the corner store are where I pick up the most students.”

Benefits of Riding a CARTA Bus with a UTC ID/ Mocs Express:

• Unlimited free access to downtown Chattanooga, Hamilton Place, Northgate, and other CARTA routes
• Wheelchair accessible
• Busses run every 6 minutes

UTC freshmen Shauntra Spencer and Raquel Fuller said they both take the bus each day. ” I think it’s more convenient.” I have learned to know the schedule so I know when it will be coming and how long I’m going to have to wait,” Spencer said.

Weather plays a key factor to why some students take the bus said Fuller.” The bus is the most crowded when it’s cold or rainy.”

Engle Stadium Parking

By Mariah Grimes

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) – In September of 2012, the City Council of Chattanooga voted to ban non-residents from parking in Fort Wood. And by non-residents, they mean UTC students. The ordinance applies to the 800 and 900 blocks of Oak Street, Vine Street and Fort Wood Street, as well as the 500 block of Fort Wood Historic District.

New parking ban leaves ample parking for residents

This is a problem for UTC students because before the decision to ban parking, students had a one-hour grace period for parking during school hours. Students would often park in Fort Wood for one class, and sometimes for longer risking a ticket, since the neighborhood is conveniently right next to campus.

The decision was made because Fort Wood residents were having problems finding a place to park near their homes. The streets would be full of student cars, often leaving nowhere to park for homeowners and businesses. Most houses and apartments do not have parking lots or driveways to accommodate residents, so that only leaves street parking.

Fort Wood Historic District is located right next to campus

Emma Tinius, a junior at UTC and Oak Street resident, says she is ecstatic about the new decision. Tinius said, “I am paying $25 for a Fort Wood parking pass, but could never find a spot. I don’t have a driveway so I literally had nowhere to park. It was so frustrating because it was a daily struggle. You have no idea how happy I am about the new rule.”

When asked if Tinius had problems with tickets when friends came to visit, she did admit that it was a risk her friends had to take. “People don’t come over that often,” she said.

Another Oak Street resident, UTC senior Julia Schlicher, said her visitors had to park in her small backyard or driveway. “Parking was an issue for me as well. When friends came over, they would have to basically park in my yard, which looks kind of trashy for the Fort Wood area.”

A Vine Street resident and non-student, Robert Stanley, is relieved that the new ban was passed. Stanley lives next door to the Kappa Sigma fraternity house, and the 60 fraternity members would park on the street for their weekly meeting. Although their meetings are only weekly, some members still park on the street just because their house was so close to campus, which sometimes left Stanley with few places to park.

Chi Omega’s sorority house is located in Fort Wood

Naturally, many commuter students are very unhappy with the new rule. With the current parking shortage and record amount of 12,100 students, the Fort Wood parking ban is yet another tragedy for commuter students.

UTC sophomore, Brian Bledsoe, said that the ban was a huge inconvenience for commuter students. And since the ban has taken effect, the streets have excess parking, which only frustrates students more since they are not allowed to park there. Bledsoe said,”I honestly believe that there are more students that park there than there are residents who live in Fort Wood, so I think we deserved a say in the matter. I understand why the people living there are upset, but we as students with basically no parking have the right to be mad, too. We could park there for 15 minutes and get an $11 ticket, which multiplies to like $40 after a certain amount of days. It’s ridiculous.”

Since the ban, there is much more room for residents to park

Students who are upset about the Fort Wood parking ban are demanding that the university do something to alleviate the problem, since the ban now eliminates yet another area to park. One option that UTC junior, Keri McKay, suggests is that freshmen should not be allowed to have cars on campus. “I know some other universities don’t allow freshmen to have cars and I mean just think about it, freshmen are one-fourth of the students at UTC. That would help all the other students out so much. Freshmen can deal with no car for one year,” said McKay.

To obtain a Fort Wood parking pass, you must be a resident of Fort Wood and apply for a permit. The lease determines how many permits will be allowed per residence. Permits are $25 and renewable yearly.

UTC authorities have suggested that students park at meters or purchase a general parking pass because there is ample parking at the Engel Stadium general parking lot. For more information on shuttle routes, see where you can go on the Mocs Express Campus Shuttle.

By Emily Kulick and Brian Bass

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (UTC/The Loop) –  UTC is known for having few parking spaces and for ticketing too frequently. After spending $140 on my parking tickets, I discovered some loop holes in the parking system.

The UTC campus parking map.

According to parking services, all lots located on campus are patrolled at all times of the day. After three years spent at UTC, and two semesters without a parking decal, there are many lots located on campus that are not patrolled at all times of the day.

Jennifer McGee, a sophomore at UTC, says she always parks at Guerry apartments, lot 47, after five p.m. and moves her car before 10 a.m. and never gets a ticket.

“I think parking services checks the lots as often as they can but not enough to prevent students from parking there with the wrong parking decals,” says McGee.

Lot 47, by Guerry apartments.

I bought a parking decal for lot 10, EMCS building, two semesters ago. I have been using the same lot without a parking decal ever since it expired.

Between the hours of 10:00 to 10:50 a.m., lot 10 is available for parking without a parking decal. The lot is also available from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. the next day.

Parking lot 10 is not available during the hours of 12:00 to 2:00 p.m. The lot is patrolled by parking services during those hours.

The lot by the Frist building,26, is patrolled during the day heavily. However, the lot is free to park in from 3:00 p.m. until 8:00 a.m. the next day. I have received a ticket for parking there at 2:45, so make sure you don’t get to the lot too early.

Lot 26, by the Frist building.

Kylie Linfoot, a UTC junior, says that she parks in the garage by the ARC, 31, without a decal.

“To get in the garage, you need a number to type in. All you have to do is find someone who bought a number and use theirs when you want to park there,” says Linfoot.

Linfoot also says that she parks in the garages by Stophel apartments without a decal. She lets the person in front of her slide their card first, then she just drives in the garage behind them.

All general lots are “patrolled” as well but I have never been ticketed without a decal.

The UTC parking loop holes are subject to change but for now students should feel free to use these loop holes at anytime.