Most mornings Miriam Stefan, a sophomore at the Keck School of Medicine, cruises through USC’s Shrine Parking Structure vying for a coveted EV charging port that hangs from white concrete pillars.
“It’s been a lot more crowded,” said Stefan on the parking experience this semester.
Stefan is in the process of receiving a discounted permit for driving an EV but admits the process has been ‘complicated’ thus far.
This fall, new parking rules will apply to those like Stefan who commute to campus in an electric vehicle. With over a thousand people vying for one of 250 ports across both campuses, changes to the EV program are the result of an increasing demand for electric and parking infrastructure.
“In 2014 we had one public outlet behind an army barracks building that doesn’t even exist anymore,” said David Donovan, Associate Director of USC Transportation. He has overseen USC’s EV program since its inception a decade ago.
What EV drivers need to know about the new parking rules
The Downey Way parking structure presented some difficulties for the transportation department. Although people had permits to park, they could not find a spot.
“We looked at the numbers. It’s not oversold, we’re not selling daily passes, what is happening?” Donovan said. “It was the EV charging population.”
EV drivers must now choose a primary location where they want to park, under updated fall 2024 EV charging rules. This is similar to how everyone else purchases a parking permit, which is different from years past that allowed EVers to park in any structure when not charging.
EV drivers can apply for a discounted, Cardinal tier parking rate simply for driving an electric vehicle, proof of EV ownership is required.
Vehicles may charge at any available port across campuses, but once they are finished, they must return to their designated structure. Exceptions to relocation include USC Village, which also serves as a public-facing retail environment, and HSC’s Valley Lot, which has a large number of available chargers.
“We have to know where you’re parking just so we can manage our inventory,” Donovan said. “The EV permit will no longer exist as of next June.”
Why not just build more charging ports?
Matthew Kahn, provost professor of economics at USC Dornsife, drives an electric vehicle but opts for public transportation to avoid ‘range anxiety,’ the fear that an EV will run out of battery power before reaching its next destination.
“I realize that many of us would be more likely to drive EVs to USC if we could access charging stations,” Khan said. “But you don’t have to be at Viterbi Engineering to know that it can be very costly to upgrade old buildings.”
USC parking garages were constructed long before electric vehicles roamed the streets making them unable to withstand the demands of newer ports.
“We have already maximized where all these chargers can go in terms of the university’s capacity,” Donovan said. “All of the expansion now and since 2017 has been in new construction.”
Nine charging ports were most recently installed in the Downey Parking Structure last year due in part to the construction of the adjacent Ginsburg Hall. Similar additions took place in 2016 with the construction of University Village, USC Shrine and the San Pablo parking structure at HSC.
For Kahn, centralizing EV operations under a singular structure could help relieve some of the stress behind electric demand and lead to cost advantages as production grows.
“If systems break down, they can have somebody repair it, and they can keep an eye on the demand for electricity,” Kahn said.
According to Donovan, the university is working toward electrification initiatives across campus infrastructure but admits it is still ‘horribly behind’ in terms of its goals. This could change as the city of Los Angeles steps into the world’s limelight and begins to push transportation initiatives in preparation for the 2028 Olympics.
“There’s going to be a lot of resources poured into the city of Los Angeles, USC and UCLA,” Donovan said. “I think [the 2028 Olympics] is going to be a driver of change in terms of the EV community. It’ll be one of those leap forward moments.”