LAHORE: Teachers, students and members of the administrative staff at Punjab University have raised questions over the introduction of a parking fee at the entrance gates of the university from Nov 1, 2025, a step being implemented for the first time across its campuses in Lahore.

Under the new system, the university administration has imposed a fee of Rs10 per motorcycle and Rs30 per car, truck, wagon or any other vehicle entering the campus. The decision has also introduced an electronic tagging system for faculty members, employees and residents of the university housing colony.

According to the policy, faculty members and staff living in the new campus housing colony will be required to share details of visitors through text or WhatsApp messages on two designated numbers provided by the administration.

Employees from scale 1 to 22 will have to obtain a radio frequency identification card after paying Rs300 as a one-time fee, while the RFID card fee for motorcycles has been fixed at Rs200 for employees from scale 1 to 10.

Spox says move aims at curbing ‘shortcuts’ by public at large; teachers, students to get e-tag

The administration has exempted departmental vehicles, motorcycles, university buses, post office vehicles, bank cash vans and guest house vehicles from the parking fee. Retired faculty members and employees have been asked to contact their respective departments for entry arrangements.

A faculty member, speaking on condition of anonymity, said it was unclear whether the system had been introduced for security purposes or revenue generation.

He said the e-tag did not carry any visible university identification and all visitors would have to pay Rs30 to enter the campus.

He added that the system allowed anyone to enter the university after paying the fee.

Students residing in hostels criticised the decision, saying they frequently entered and exited the campus and often received visitors from other universities and non-resident classmates for academic activities.

They said the parking fee would increase their financial burden and restrict movement within the campus.

Some students said the university environment was being turned into a restricted space.

The day scholar students said that they would use personal and private vehicles to attend classes and it would create problems for them.

They said that they would only have to show a university card in the past to enter the campus but now they would have to also show e-tag.

They said this would increase problems for them and would also result in clashes with the university staff checking the tags. “This system is not introduced for security but to make money, “ one of the students said.

The students said already they were not able to pay heavy fees in the university and this e-tag and parking fee was another way to extract money.

Responding to the concerns, Punjab University spokesperson Khurrum Shehzad said the parking fee was not being introduced for the first time, adding that visitors previously paid charges at multiple parking points inside the campus.

He said under the new arrangement, a visitor would pay the fee once and could move and park anywhere within the university without additional charges.

He said faculty members, employees, students, shopkeepers and canteen workers would not have to pay the parking fee and would be issued e-tags.

He added that the university gates were being used by the public as shortcuts to Wahdat Colony Road, Sheikh Zayed Hospital and Barkat Market, and the new system would restrict this practice unless the entry fee was paid.

The spokesperson said all individuals requiring regular access would have to pay a one-time e-tag fee of Rs300.

Published in Dawn, December 19th, 2025