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Purchase a Parking Permit

The Purchase a Parking Permit process allows end-users to buy standard recurring permits, purchase temporary short-term parking, or join a waitlist for full lots directly through the user portal. Its primary purpose is to enable self-service parking management for users, reducing administrative overhead and streamlining revenue collection. This article is intended for OPS-COM administrators to help them understand and support the user-facing permit purchasing workflow.

Setup and Configuration

This feature is a core component of the user portal.

Admin Side: Administrators must ensure that parking lots, permit types, and waitlist limits are properly configured on the backend. If your organization requires a permit disclaimer, ensure the disclaimer text is updated and enabled in your system settings.

User Side: Users must have an active portal account and at least one registered vehicle on their profile before the system will allow them to complete a permit purchase.

Using this Feature

Administrators can use the following instructions to guide users through accessing the permit store and selecting their desired parking option.

Accessing the Permits Screen

  1. Log in to the User Portal and click Permits.

  2. Read the Permit Disclaimer presented on the screen.

  3. Click I Agree to accept the terms and proceed to the main permit selection screen.

If a user has not yet registered a vehicle to their account, clicking the Permits menu item will automatically redirect them to the Vehicles screen to complete that mandatory step first.

Purchasing a Standard Permit

  1. Locate the desired parking option and click Standard Permit to view the permit details.

  2. Click the Reserve Permit button to add the item to the cart.

  3. Proceed to the Payments screen to complete the checkout process and finalize the purchase.

Purchasing a Temporary Permit

  1. Locate the desired temporary parking option and click Get Temp Permit.

  2. Select the start and end dates or choose the number of hours for the permit from the provided fields.

  3. Select the specific vehicle that will be using the permit.

  4. Click Check Availability to verify that the lot has capacity for the selected timeframe.

  5. Click Reserve Permit and proceed to the payment screen to finalize the transaction.

Joining a Waitlist

  1. Locate the desired lot on the Permits screen and expand the Waitlist option on the lot card.

  2. Click Join Waitlist to add the account to the queue for that specific parking area.

Available Actions and Buttons

  • Standard Permit: Click this button to begin the purchase process for a standard permit, which typically covers recurring periods like one month or a full semester.

  • Get Temp Permit: Click this button to initiate the purchase of short-term, temporary parking.

  • Check Availability: Click this button during a temporary permit purchase to query the system for available space before confirming the reservation.

Best Practices and Considerations

  • Communicate temporary permit limits: Administrators should ensure users understand that temporary permits are strictly valid for up to 30 days. If a user requires parking for longer than 30 days, they must purchase a standard permit.

  • Waitlist visibility: If your organization allows users to see their waitlist rank, ensure they know where to find this information. Users can track their place in line by following the instructions on the Viewing Your Waitlist Position page.

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