Carpool Information and Permits

A variety of carpool permits are available based on eligibility. Join the hundreds of others who have already discovered the convenience and savings of carpooling to campus. Whether you are a UCSC student, faculty, or staff, carpooling can equal less expensive commuting and lower parking fees!

Finding a Carpool Partner

Sign up at mycruz511.org. You can choose whether you share your commute only with UCSC's private network, or open up the possibilities and choose to be part of the regional network. Just enter your commute and select which network you'd like to share with to get started. To learn more about how to share your commute on Cruz511, check out their FAQ's.

Carpool Permit Eligibility

• Requires 2 to 4 current UCSC affiliates
• Must live off campus (excluding University Town Center).
• Must have a vehicle that is registered to either themself or an immediate family member who is not a UCSC affiliate.
• Primary work/study location must be on the residential campus, Coastal Science Campus, or Westside Research Park.
• If the carpool drops to only one member (for any reason), the carpool permit will be either suspended or disbanded.
• Each member’s license plate will serve as the carpool permit; there are no longer physical permits.
• Only one license plate may be used for a carpool permit each day. If another license plate associated with the carpool is parked on campus on the same day, it will be subject to citation.

Carpool Permit Types

A Carpool Permits

A Carpool permits allow close-in parking and require at least one participant to be faculty, staff, or a grad student. A Carpool permits are valid in all A and R lots (parking map).

Multi-year A Carpool Permits
Employees who are eligible for payroll deduction may purchase Multi-year A Carpool permits. All members of the carpool must be eligible for payroll deduction.

Quarterly A Carpool Permits
Employees not eligible for payroll deduction and grad students may purchase a Quarterly A Carpool permit. When faculty or staff carpool with a graduate or undergraduate student only a Quarterly A Carpool permit may be purchased.

R Carpool Permits

R Carpool permits are valid only in the East and West Remote lots (parking map). Undergrads are eligible for a limited number of R Carpool permits on a first-come, first-served basis. R Carpool permits are only available quarterly.

Students have the option of charging their share of the cost of an R Carpool permit to their student billing account. Eligible faculty and staff who join an undergrad’s R Carpool Permit may not use payroll deduction for their share of the permit cost.

Starting a Carpool Permit

Carpool Permits are now virtual and your license plate will serve as your permit. Follow these steps to set up your virtual carpool permit:

1. Once you have determined all the members of your carpool, designate a carpool leader.
2. The carpool leader will go to ucsc.aimsparking.com and sign in with their CruzID and Gold Password.
3. On the dashboard, select “Start a Carpool”
4. On the following screen, select the type of carpool permit.
5. Next, enter the total number of carpool members (including the leader) and add the other members with their UCSC email addresses.
6. Select “Confirm.”
7. Enter the carpool details.
   1. Carpool Name: Select a name all the carpool members will recognize.
   2. Carpool Origin: Use this to indicate where the carpool will start.
   3. Zipcode: Enter the zipcode of the carpool’s origin.
   4. Description: Add any other details here. This will be included in the email invitation that is sent to carpool members.
8. Select “Confirm.”
9. Enter address. This will not be visible to any of the other carpool members.
10. Select “Confirm.”
11. Select “Add Vehicle” and enter vehicle information. This only needs to be completed for the leader’s vehicle. The other members will enter their own vehicle information separately.
12. After adding the vehicle, select “Confirm.”
13. Review the carpool permit policy and check the box to agree to the Terms of Service.
14. Select “Agree and Submit.”

Next Steps

Once the initial applications complete, each member of the carpool will receive an email invitation to join the carpool. Each member must accept the invitation and complete their information for the carpool to be approved.

After all members have accepted their invitations, TAPS will review the carpool application. Once approved, each member will receive another email with a payment link for their portion of the carpool permit. Each member must complete their payment separately.

Once payment is completed, TAPS will complete a final review and issue the permit. Only the carpool leader will receive an email once the permit has been issued.

The permit will then be valid to park in the areas designated by that permit. There are no physical permits to pick up; each member’s license plate will serve as the carpool permit. Only one license plate may be used for a carpool permit each day. If another license plate associated with the carpool is parked on campus, it will be subject to citation.