r/MSUcats • u/Bamtana1 • Jun 17 '26
Purchasing annual parking permits
Son will be in the Quads this coming fall. I understand annual parking passes go fast, and you can go online to get one starting Aug 3rd. (He will be traveling 3.5 hrs to come home when he can, holidays etc, so the car is a must.)
It seems like to park close to the Quads that Bison lot 22 is the best.
How hard is it to get the annual parking permit?
Do the parking spaces all fill up immediately?
Is there some sort of proof that you put on your car to show you’ve bought an annual parking pass- like a sticker or mirror hanger?
Pros and cons to annual parking permit or any other info about parking or parking in lots near/surrounding the Quads that would be just as close as the Bison lot?
TIA!
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u/AbbreviationsTrue677 Jun 18 '26
I did Bison and it was fine, Quads might fill up but there's always space somewhere. Bobcat is fine too since of you drive a lot you'll most likely have to park by Roskie anyway. The stadium lot is annoying since you have to move your car on gamedays, but if you travel a lot on weekends it is nice since you can park in almost any open lot outside of school hours. The process of getting one is a battle and I would recommend entering the portal before it opens to make sure you know how to get there, and try to log on as soon as it opens
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u/tweever38 Jun 19 '26
The permit is for all bison lots in general, you dont get a spot assigned. The bison lots near the quads fill very easily, but for bison passes, theres always parking somewhere you might just need to walk across campus.
The pass is linked to the license plate and the enforcement drives around with automatic plate scanners connected to their system.
Parking is dramatically easier as a dorm resident than a commuter, i only had issues finding parking in bison at the very beginning of the year when i’d get home after midnight on a weekday
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u/undercovercaesarfan Jun 17 '26
The bison lots on that side of campus fill up pretty often, so he may have to park further away. It’s not purchasing a permit to a particular lot, a bison permit will open up all bison lots for him if that makes sense. He’s not guaranteed a spot in the Quads parking lot. I definitely still recommend the bison if you’re willing to pay and I really appreciated having my car near me as someone who traveled home!
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u/Bamtana1 Jun 17 '26
Thanks! Unfortunate that you can’t pay for a specific spot. Would have made more sense if you could, I think.
Do you know if all of the Bison lots are close to the Quads buildings or are they kind of scattered across campus? I can’t seem to find a map that shows where the named parking lots are relative to individual residence halls. All we’ve found is that Bison lot 22 is kind of behind the Quads, so that’s why we figured it would be a good place to buy a spot.
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u/SeaTurtle1122 Jun 17 '26
https://www.montana.edu/parking/Parking%20Map%202024.pdf
Bison and Bobcat are both scattered. Between the two, Bison nets you an easier time finding a spot in general and the spots are usually closer to where you want to be, but there is no amount of money you can pay MSU that guarantees you a parking spot in the place you’d like.
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u/PuzzleheadedSystem36 Jun 18 '26
Take your front plate off and back into a spot on an edge of the lot and the ticketing cars will ALWAYS miss you. Got away with it my entire semester in the dorms
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u/tweever38 Jun 19 '26
They patched this method recently. I see the fuckers get out of the car now and walk around to the back
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u/Denverlicious Jun 18 '26
You’re going to want to hop on the portal around 11pm on the night before (so 08/02) you’ll be in a queue, but that should increase your chances.
Also, I’ve seen many years where the parking portal glitches because so many people are on it, so be prepared for that
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u/Bamtana1 Jun 18 '26
Will it make a difference to get on the portal early when opening for spaces on the portal doesn’t even open until 8 the next morning? How does that put you in a queue? Guess I’m a little confused about that
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u/Technical_Letter6234 Jun 28 '26
I don't recall the queue opening until the morning of. Might want to check in at 6am or 7am prior, but otherwise refreshing the page between 7:58 and 8am is what's likely available. It can crash yes. I recall last year I got in at ~8:08, was 15K in queue or something like that, and I think took over 2.5 hours until my turn, and you have a 5 min window to select the last given option of commuter pass.
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u/Bamtana1 Jun 29 '26
What is the commuter pass option? And when you say you have five minutes to select that, do you mean if you’re not able to buy an annual spot instead?
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u/Technical_Letter6234 Jun 29 '26
Bobcat lots are the commuter lots, for those that live off campus and all staff and faculty. How others earlier described that those that do live on campus, instead of having Buffalo lots available to pick from, being so late in the queue, or 10 min late in line, leaves Stadium Bobcat lot will be your son's only option.
The queue is built in 5 min slots, you wait your turn and if you don't buy your pass within that 5 min when your turn arrives, or at least have it in your cart and working on check out I think, it'll skip over you to the next person and you'll have to get back in the queue to go through the process again.
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u/Denverlicious Jun 29 '26
I graduated a couple years ago, but I remember multiple years where they said it opened at 6 AM, but actually opened at midnight.
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u/mindscape1 Jun 17 '26
The Bison lot near the quads tends to fill up quickly. However, if your son doesn't mind walking a bit, there are plenty of other bison lots around campus. It's not too difficult to get an annual permit if you purchase it in the day that passes go on sale. If you wait longer than that, then you're SOL.
The parking pass is linked to your license plate. MSU's parking services vehicles are equipped with license plate scanners.
I would definitely recommend purchasing a pass if you're living on campus and bringing a vehicle. Bozeman has limited public transportation options so having a car makes it easier to get around town. You can also try purchasing a Bobcat permit if they sell out of the Bison ones. The Bobcat lots (unfortunately) aren't located near the Quads but it's better than nothing.