FAQs

The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa welcomes nearly 25,000 faculty, staff, students, and visitors to the campus everyday. With a very limited inventory of 5,000 parking stalls across the campus, parking is at a premium. Typically only graduate students and seniors are able to secure parking reservations based on their class standing. UH Mānoa encourages alternative transportation options to commute to the Mānoa campus. Alternative transportation options not only offer opportunities to save on fuel costs and parking fees, it also helps UH Mānoa to mālama ʻāina or take care of our limited resources and minimize the impact to our environment and neighboring communities.

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COVID

Commuter Services has increased cleaning and sanitation efforts in high touchpoint areas including parking structure elevators, stair rails, and pay-to-park machines. Elevators in the parking structure will be cleaned at least twice a day, while other areas will be frequently cleaned and wiped down.

Rainbow Shuttle vendor E Noa Corp. will spray disinfectant on shuttle seats and wipe down hand railings each time they make a stop at Varney Circle. Each shuttle will have hand sanitizer available for riders and a protective divider has been installed by the driver.

The parking office located at QLC has also implemented enhanced health and safety measures, including encouraging online services (i.e. paying for permits and citations on the web), touchless service by placing your ID/credit card into a container for processing, and frequently wiping down high touchpoint surfaces.

Guests must adhere to COVID-prevention health and safety standards, including use of the LumiSight UH App,  wearing face coverings, waiting in line six feet apart, and using the hand sanitizer that will be available.

General

Student permit reservations coincide with class registration. Students will have to register as a full-time Mānoa student through their STAR account first, then go to our home page and click on the reservation button to select a zone for their parking permit. Zone 8 and 21 are strictly for housing students. If a student reserves the wrong zone, it may not be possible to switch it and thus they lose their reservation. Students who have early registration will have to wait until their regularly designated registration time (per admission’s posted timetable) to reserve a permit. The reservation button is not on their parking portal account and once a specific zone is reserved out, it will no longer be available.
Typically, graduate students and most seniors who register properly as a full-time student at their designated registration date/time (per admission’s posted timetable) will be able to reserve a permit. Other permit options that do not require a reservation are available on a first-come, first-serve basis. These permits include: carpool, moped/motorcycle and Zone 25 permits.
We do not have a matching system, students are responsible for finding a carpool buddy.
A number of entities offer off-campus parking. These are not managed by UHM Commuter Services. This list may be a helpful start.
Zone 20 permits are not allowed to park in Student Housing  8 and 21 or in Zone 22 structure and Hawaiʻian Studies lot.. Permit holders may park in other zones (not Zone 22, 21, 8) after 4:00 p.m. until 6:30 a.m. the next morning and all day on weekends and state holidays except during special events.
Request for a parking exemption will be accepted during the first week of school only via email (parking@hawaii.edu). It is not a guarantee and if you are granted approval, it is a one-time exemption for a parking pass. Exemptions can be applied for all semester, but approvals will be granted as permits become available. It is best to apply at the start of the semester.
Reserved spaces for accessible parking are located throughout the Mānoa campus. Signs displaying the International Symbol of Access identify these spaces. The display of a valid Disability Parking Permit is required when parking in any space reserved for accessible parking. And the use of any parking space on the Mānoa campus requires the display of the appropriate university parking permit, pass, daily parking ticket, or the display of a federal, state, or city government license plate. For accessible parking spaces, BOTH a DP permit and the University permit/pass must be displayed while the vehicle is parked. Students may request a student medical permit in person at our business office. Students must provide their UH ID, driver’s license and their DP blue card (not the placard)

The Rainbow Shuttle is a free shuttle service funded solely by Commuter Services. This free service provides UH faculty, staff, students and affiliates to frequently access the UH Mānoa campus through routes that are not serviced through similar means of public transportation.

For more information on shuttle capacity and routes, please visit our Rainbow Shuttle page.

Commuter Services also offers free Commuter bike cage parking for cyclists and moped drivers. Only registered UH users are allowed card-access entry to the bike cage located in the Zone 20 Structure next to Stan Sheriff Center. The bike cage includes bike racks and video surveillance for added security. The bike cage is located in the Zone 20 Parking Structure (first entrance). If you are interested in registering for bike cage access, please email us at: eventprk@hawaii.edu.