A new private development on the fringes of the University of Malta campus has more than tripled its parking fees overnight, causing an uproar among students. 

Campus Hub, which features restaurants, shopping outlets, student accommodation and hundreds of underground parking bays, will now charge €6.50 for anyone parking between five and 13 hours. 

A representative of Vassallo Group, the company that runs Campus Hub, said the €2 flat rate was simply an introductory offer that was available while the project had not been completed. 

A student or lecturer attending campus for a single two-hour lecture will pay €3.50, a 75 per cent increase over their previous cost. 

Previously, users could park their car in the facility’s underground parking facility for a flat €2 fee. 

Users can now obtain up to two hours of free parking – but only if they purchase items from outlets within Campus Hub, with terms and conditions applying.

This is a far cry from what it costs students to park in the university's own car parks, which are administered by the university’s student council. 

Students pay KSU a flat fee of €3.50 to obtain a parking permit valid for one year. Fees from parking permits go into a green fund that subsidises motorcycle lessons for students or covers part of the cost of purchasing a bicycle or a pedelec, KSU president Alex Gaglione told Times of Malta. 

KSU also runs a carpooling system, which allows two or more students with a parking permit to reserve a parking space on campus until 10am if they choose to drive to campus in the same car. 

While Campus Hub is offering 100 parking cards at the discounted rate of €150 for three months, this is only roughly 22 per cent of the existing 437 parking spaces in the complex. 

Gaglione said the prices were not realistic for students to use on a regular basis. 

“The tariffs are ridiculous. Most students spend entire days there, especially during exam season, I’ve spent 13 to 14-hour stretches at university,” she said. 

“That would be my entire stipend gone on parking.” 

In reply to questions sent by Times of Malta, Vassallo Group said the complex had been launched at a "heavily subsidised" rate at a time when the project was not fully operational. 

"The launching of the new price structure actually includes a flat rate of just over €1.50 (reduced from €2 per day) for clients who would like to purchase a Campus Hub Parking card. The initial 100 spaces will be increased according to demand to ensure continued access to all," the group said. 

"Campus Hub offers a large variety of outlets and a large public square with parking rates that are very competitive when compared to similar projects in Malta. Parking discounts and free parking is also offered when buying from Campus Hub commercial outlets."

Both student political groups Pulse and SDM have criticised the sudden price hike, saying the financial burden to run a commercial entity should not be placed on students. 

“While we acknowledge that this is a private entity and independent from the University of Malta, it should still consider the financial burden it will add on students knowing the parking crisis found at the university,” said Pulse.

“Looking at the current inflation rates, increasing parking prices should be the last thing to do for students who are still in their studies.”

SDM similarly expressed their disappointment. 

“It is blatantly obvious that these tariffs were decided to take advantage of an already existing and growing parking issue currently present on campus, and goes against what was initially promised by the project, in order to make parking more affordable and available,” they said.

Rector Alfred Vella said that while no agreement on rates had been established before the complex was built, the university currently has no say in establishing parking prices there. 

“I understand that after a period of time with a modest rate, no one is going to enjoy a price hike,” he said. 

“As a university, we cannot oblige them to do anything, as a private operator, their commercial decisions are their own.” 

He said things would be different in the management of its own new parking facilities. The university has plans to redevelop the existing sports complex on campus which will see the addition of over 1,000 car spaces. 

“It is a pity that this is the current situation but I can assure you that when it comes to the car park we will have complete control over the rates.” 

The Nationalist Party’s student wing MŻPN said the mobility crisis on campus is only a symptom of the issue that there is no efficient or affordable public transport for students, which leads them to rely heavily on their private cars. 

Due to the insufficient number of parking spaces at the university, students as well as staff and lecturers depend on private parking to commute to campus.