Veronica Novak has gotten seven parking tickets this semester.
"I've already had my car towed ... right before Spring Break," said Novak, an art history and business major.
Novak isn't the only person who avoids paying parking tickets -- ASU and the city of Tempe combined currently have about 45,000 unpaid parking tickets, officials said.
Rick Rager, deputy court manager for the Tempe Municipal Court, said as of March 1 the city had 19,796 outstanding tickets.
The average cost of each ticket was $28, he said, but once it is deemed unpaid it is referred to a collection agency and additional fines are added.
"That $28 citation ends up being $55.20," Rager said.
This means the city is owed $1,092,739.20.
Twenty percent of the original fine goes to the city's general fund, Rager said.
The remaining 80 percent goes to the state, where it is used for, among other things, Clean Elections, Medical Services Enhancement and "fill-the-gap" funds, which includes funding to cover court cases for the needy.
ASU Parking and Transit Services averages around 90,000 tickets issued per year, said Mark Krug, a spokesman for PTS.
So far this fiscal year, which starts in July for the state, about 25,000 tickets have been identified as unpaid, which he said was typical.
Krug could not give an exact figure for how much money that represented.
But from August 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005, a total of 18,389 unpaid tickets meant a loss of $415,590 to the University, Krug said.
Since PTS is a self-sustaining department, the money is taking away funding that could be used towards maintenance of facilities or buses, he added.
"The money also goes to other initiatives," Krug said. "Programs that directly benefit the students, not just parking."
PTS funds 50 percent of the budget for Safety Escort Service, a program that provides rides to students, faculty and staff as an alternative to walking alone at night, he said.
PTS also supports the Bike Co-op, which provides a low-cost way for students to service their bikes, and USG Community Bikes, which allows students and staff to check out bikes for up to two weeks, Krug added.
PTS does factor unpaid parking tickets into their operating budget, so while nonpayment doesn't affect any current operations, it does affect initiatives or programs for the future, Krug said.
Novak had no remorse about her tickets, despite the fact the fines had cost her $250.
"It does add up," she said. "But I still think it's cheaper than buying a parking pass."
Yearly decal rates range from $75 for Lot 59 to $240 for structures.
Novak said she parks in metered lots every day since she only comes to campus for one class.
"It's definitely unfair that meters are only one hour, especially when most classes are an hour and a half," she said.
Reach the reporter at andrea.adams@asu.edu.
