A private company that more than tripled its parking fees overnight has backed down after University of Malta students prepared to protest against it.

Campus Hub will allow students to park their cars at the facility for a fixed €3 fee as of Wednesday, a company spokesperson confirmed to Times of Malta late on Tuesday.

Students will need to present proof that they are enrolled at university. The University Students Council said they could do so by presenting a copy of their eSims registration letter.

Other users, including University staff, will continue to pay the full rates unveiled last week. 

Lovin Malta quoted company CEO Chris Vassallo as saying the company had “made a mistake” by raising prices for its underground car park to near-unaffordable levels for students.

The decision to reintroduce a flat fee for students marks an abrupt U-turn for the company, which quietly introduced dramatically increased parking rates over the weekend, without any prior warning.

Under the revised rates, students faced fees of €6.50 for anything up to 13 hours parking, rising to €12 for a full day of parking. Previously, they paid a flat €2 daily fee. 

The revised Campus Hub parking rates that were published last weekend. Photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Students had immediately reacted angrily to the parking price hike, arguing that the new fees were exorbitant and intended to take advantage of a known parking problem at the university campus.

And despite bus rides having been made free for all residents just weeks prior, there appeared to be little interest among the student body in seeking alternative means of transport.

Instead, anger at Campus Hub continued to build over the ensuing days. On Tuesday, a collective of 10 different student organisations announced a protest scheduled for Friday dubbed ‘Students over Profit’.

Within hours of the protest having been announced, Campus Hub said it had had a change of heart.

Campus Hub began operating this academic year and offers a mixture of student accommodation, lecture rooms, underground parking, retail and food outlets. It operates as a subsidiary of the Vassallo Group, which obtained a €25 million concession to build and run the complex back in 2016.