Parking: A HUGE Non-Issue

Where I work, there's a big furor going on over the fact that people are being asked to park somewhere that isn't convenient for them. And to that I respond: "Huh. Really."

Here's the situation: the area of OSU Medical Center where I work is a good distance from the rest of the Medical Center - so far that there is a shuttle service to get people around between our section of the campus, the main medical campus, and even the other two areas that require it (put it this way: one of the areas' shuttles goes once an hour because it's that far away, up at Polaris for those who know Columbus). So parking is a big deal for some people here.

Our area has free parking - one of the few places on the OSU campus where parking is free (and not just the Medical Center campus - the WHOLE CAMPUS). So people have been getting used to parking here and then taking the shuttle to wherever they work to avoid the parking pass fee.

So in an attempt to combat this dishonesty, the Medical Center brass has decided to increase the areas of our parking garage that are for patients only, as the effort is being made to ensure that patients get most of the parking. And to me, that makes good sense.

But the practical side of this is that the employees all over the Medical Center are up in arms about it, because they're being asked to park somewhere that's inconvenient for them. And at that, I mock them openly.

I take the bus to work every day. And I get dropped off RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE BUILDING. Every day. And my bus pass costs about half of what it costs for parking passes, plus I don't have to worry about parking too far away from my office because I don't PARK ANYWHERE. OSU is the easiest employer to service with the COTA bus system as there are more routes toward campus than just about anywhere else in the city.

But to suggest to folks that they take the bus to work, you'd think that someone suggested that they crawl to work with a skateboard strapped to their stomach. They just don't get it!

But let's do the math:
Jamie:

• $40 per month, all the transportation he needs. Total: $480 per year.

Everyone else:

• According to AAA, in 2005 it cost $8,410 per year to own and operate a car. Add the $960 for OSU parking passes (I think it's $80/month). You're looking at around $9370 for operating a car as an OSU employee.

Is that an easy decision for anyone else to make? Yet for some reason, people just have it in their heads that they MUST drive to work. And I'm not going to be so bold as to say that EVERYONE could take the bus... some people don't have that luxury due to other constraints.

But I'm going to say half the employees here could get away with it, and enjoy not having to drive, not having to put up with road raging morons, not have to get frustrated by traffic, not having to shell out money every time someone decides to try to take the easy way and ends up ramming your back end, and most of all not have to lose almost $9000 a year just because you think you have to drive.

I laugh at those of you who choose to drive to work, particularly at OSU. It's really a no brainer.