The priorities for state and university funds are established by the campus and are focused on the academic program. While the campus has recognized access as important to the academic mission, and the parking system as a campus utility, it cannot easily shift funds without taking them away from other priorities. Funds collected from user fees, which are not earmarked for annual operating expenses and existing debt service, remain in special accounts at Parking and Transportation for use in future capital development. Replacement funds are kept in a special account created by the campus for this purpose. UC Berkeley currently has the highest parking rates of any UC campus, but it also has the smallest parking supply for its population.
Supply is very limited.
There is no land on which to build parking at relatively low cost, and there are obstacles in the community to expanding the supply of parking. Hence, rates are high. To maintain the academic program on the Berkeley campus, capital development has occurred in every generation. With fewer than 200 acres of land on the central campus, Berkeley has little space to support its large campus population and programs. Parking lots are generally the last large open spaces available to the campus.