Tips for Commuter Students

Commuter students have several options for campus parking. Registration and permit purchase is required for all parking areas, with the exception of paid hourly parking. Any student not living in an ECU residence hall is considered a commuter student. The options below are not valid for Residence Hall students, with the exception of short-term, hourly paid parking. As always, if you have any questions about where you are eligible to park, please call the parking office, (252) 328-6294.

Park and Ride from Stadium

The C Zone is adjacent to Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium and Minges Coliseum. These lots feature hundreds of parking spaces and almost always can accommodate the number of commuter students coming to campus. ECU Transit provides service with various routes around campus. See the ECU Transit web site for details, and use the Bustime app for convenient real-time information on the next arriving bus. There is no cost for ECU students to ride ECU Transit. The C2 permit is valid 5:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. and B3 and B4 zones 5:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m.

Combination Permits for Evening On-Campus Parking

There are two types of permits for commuting students to park on campus in the evenings and weekends:

The C2A permit (C Zone plus specific hours for A Zones) allows students to park in the C Zone, 5:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. The C2A permit is also valid in A1, A3, B1, B3 and B4 lots between 5:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m., Monday through Friday, as well as weekends. Vehicles must be moved out of the these zones by 7:30 a.m. Monday mornings.

The C2G permit (C Zone plus specific hours for Garage) allows students to park in the C Zone on weekdays, 5:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m., and B4 zones 5:30 p.m. – 1:00 a.m. The C2G permit is valid in the Main Campus Parking Garage between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, as well as weekends. Vehicles must be moved out of the Garage by 7:30 a.m. Monday mornings.

Garage Parking

Convenient parking for Student Center activities, Dowdy Student Stores, Rec Center, Joyner Library, and more! Just a short walk to the Cashier’s Office and 1 Card Office in the Old Cafeteria Complex.

The GEW permit (Garage Evenings & Weekends) does not include the C Zone, but allows students to park in the Main Campus Parking Garage between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 a.m., Monday through Friday, as well as weekends. Vehicles must be moved out of the Garage by 7:30 a.m. Monday mornings.

Hourly Parking is available for non-garage permit holders for an hourly fee. The cost is $1/hour and is available to all ECU faculty, staff, students and campus visitors as long as space is available. The fee is charged for the total number of hours parked in the garage, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  There

is a lost ticket fee of $25. Overnight parking is discouraged.

1. Push button to receive a time-stamped entry ticket card at the entrance gate.
2. When you are ready to leave, you can pay for parking at a pay station located on each floor. Upon payment, you have 20 minutes to exit the garage.
3. Insert the ticket card in the machine at the exit gate.
4. If you did not pay previously at the pay station, you must pay the machine at the exit.
5. Exit gate will open.
6. Please be sure to stop at the Library Drive intersection.

There is a call button at the exit gate if you encounter any problems.

Other Hourly Parking

Hourly surface area lots on campus use pay stations or the Parkmobile app. The fee is $1/hour for “visitor” lots located at the intersection of 5th Street & Harding Street; east of Rivers Building and the Croatan dining spot; and between Jenkins Fine Arts Building and Garrett Residence Hall. On the Health Sciences campus, hourly paid parking is located near the East Carolina Heart Institute, behind the Health Sciences Student Center, and east of the Brody Building.