New parking system
We're currently migrating our parking payment and permitting services from HonkMobile to ParkEngage. All current HONK permits will expire on June 30. Starting June 21, you can purchase permits through the new system. Get the details.
Due to limited resources, parking is not free on our Portland and Gorham campuses. You must purchase a parking permit or paid parking session (or use a validation or promo code provided by a University department) to park on campus.
You don’t need to display a physical permit or receipt on your vehicle (with the exception of carpool driver and rider permits). Our license plate recognition (LPR) technology takes a picture of your license plate to validate your paid or validated parking session or permit.
Why do we charge for parking?
Finding parking at the University of Southern Maine (USM) can be a challenge at times, particularly on our Portland campus.
A paid parking system helps us manage the demand for parking spaces, motivates people to choose alternative transportation methods, and contributes to the upkeep of our facilities including:
- Repairs, cleaning, and other maintenance
- Technology implementation and enhancements
- e.g., the ParkEngage system
- Safety and security measures
- e.g., surveillance cameras, lighting, security personnel
- EV charging technology and maintenance
- Husky Line costs
Parking rates
If you park infrequently on campus, you can pay an hourly, daily, or overnight rate instead of purchasing a monthly or yearly permit.
NOTE: Non-permit rates are different for our Portland and Gorham campuses.
| Rate type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard vehicle (ending June 30) | $4/hour |
| Standard vehicle (starting July 1) | $4.15/hour |
| Oversized vehicle, bus, & trailer (ending June 30) | $6/hour |
| Oversized vehicle, bus, & trailer (starting July 1) | $8.30/hour |
| Day pass (7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.) | $16/day |
| Overnight (11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.) | $32/night |
| Portland citywide snow ban | $4.15 for the duration |
Park in Portland
| Rate type | Cost |
|---|---|
| Standard vehicle (ending June 30) | $1/hour |
| Standard vehicle (starting July 1) | $1.05/hour |
| Oversized vehicle, bus, & trailer (ending June 30) | $2/hour |
| Oversized vehicle, bus, & trailer (starting July 1) | $2.10/hour |
| Day pass (7:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.) | $6/day |
| Overnight (11:00 p.m. – 7:00 a.m.) | $12/night |
Park in Gorham
If you need to park on campus more frequently (every week or every month), purchase a permit instead of paying hourly or daily rates. There’s no physical permit to display on your vehicle (with the exception of carpool driver and rider permits).
Please choose the icon that best describes you to learn about specific parking rates.
- Commuter students
- Gorham residential students & RAs
- Portland Commons residents & RAs:
- USM students
- SMCC students
- Maine Law students
- All faculty
- All staff
- Resident Directors
- Coaches
- Graduate Assistants
- Interns (non-USM students)
- UMS employees who work at USM
- UMS employees visiting from other institutions
- Sodexo employees
- Contractors
- Service and on-call providers
- Photographers
- Account representatives
- Members of the media
- Online students
- Prospective students
- OLLI students
- Maine Law commuters
- UMS employees
- Department guests
- Event attendees
- General public
- USM alumni
- USM retirees
We define a grace period as the amount of time allowed for you to start a paid or validated parking session — or purchase a permit — after entering a parking lot or garage on campus.
Grace periods are intended for quick stops, student or camper drop-offs and pick-ups, loading, and unloading.
You must start a paid or validated parking session or purchase a parking permit before the allotted grace period is up — or before you move your car to a second space — or you will be fined.
Portland campus
Ongoing: You must start a paid or validated parking session within 30 minutes of parking on our Portland campus.
If you made a mistake and/or plan to move your vehicle to another parking space on our Portland campus, you must start your parking session before you move your vehicle.
Gorham campus
Through June 30*: You must start a paid or validated parking session within 30 minutes of parking on our Gorham campus.
Starting July 1*: You must start a paid or validated parking session within 60 minutes of parking on our Gorham campus.
If you made a mistake and/or plan to move your vehicle to another parking space on our Gorham campus, you must start your parking session before you move your vehicle.
NOTE: Parking on our Lewiston-Auburn campus is free.
Step-by-step paid parking via HONK
Through June 30: You don’t need to download the HonkMobile app. However, push notifications related to your parking session are only available through the app.
NOTE: Parking on our Lewiston-Auburn campus is free.
Omit any spaces, dots, dashes, hearts, stars, handprints, etc.
If you aren’t sure how long you’ll be on campus, we recommend that you err on the side of too much time for your parking session.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Apply Pay, and PayPal.
Make sure to start your session within 10 minutes of parking your vehicle.
You can download the HonkMobile app on your mobile device but this is not a required step.
Installing the app allows you to store vehicle and/or payment information if you choose. You can also turn on notifications to alert you when your session is about to expire.
Step-by-step paid parking via ParkEngage
Starting July 1*: Our new ParkEngage signs will include a number you can text from your mobile phone to start a paid or validated parking session. Open the link in the text you receive from us and follow the prompts to pay.
NOTE: Text-to-pay is an alternative option to scanning the QR code, but it still requires a mobile device that can access the internet.
NOTE: Parking on our Lewiston-Auburn campus is free.
Omit any spaces, dots, dashes, hearts, stars, handprints, etc.
If you aren’t sure how long you’ll be on campus, we recommend that you err on the side of too much time for your parking session.
Make sure to start your session within our grace period to avoid any fines.
What are the grace periods?
New walk-up paystations powered by ParkEngage
Starting July 1*: New walk-up paystations will be available in high-traffic areas of our Gorham and Portland campuses. Paystations accept credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
NOTE: Parking on our Lewiston-Auburn campus is free.
Portland campus
- Parking Garage 1
- Parking Garage 2
Gorham campus
- Inside the Costello Complex
- By the Ice Arena
- Lot G3 by Bailey Hall
- Enter from Water Tower Rd. or University Way
- Use this paystation if you park near Russell Hall or Corthell Hall
What are the grace periods?
If the screensaver is on, tap the screen to get started.
Tap the New Parking button on the screen.
NOTE: If you don’t have access to a smartphone or mobile phone, provide your email address to get your receipt.
License plate: Include dashes; don’t include spaces, dots, hearts, stars, or other special characters.
Phone number: Enter your full, 10-digit mobile phone number (include the area code).
We don’t require both your mobile phone number and email address. However, you must provide one or the other to receive:
- Your e-ticket/receipt
- A link to extend your paid parking session
- A reminder alert 15 minutes before your current session expires
NOTE: You cannot extend a validated parking session beyond its allotted time or you will be fined. For any additional time parked on campus, you must start a new paid parking session.
The parking fee amount adjusts automatically based on your selection.
Your parking expiration time appears in the top-right corner of the screen and adjusts automatically based on your selection.
Your parking fee total will appear on the next screen.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Apply Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Credit cards can be inserted, tapped, or swiped. A text-to-pay option is also available.
Your parking session e-ticket ID will appear on the paystation screen.
You’ll also receive a text message and/or email with your parking session details.
If you have a smartphone, you can get your parking session details by using the camera app to scan the QR code that appears on the paystation screen (tap the link that appears if prompted).
Your parking session expiration time is located in the top right-hand corner of the information you received after scanning the QR code or tapping the link in a text message or email.
NOTE: You cannot extend a validated parking session beyond its allotted time or you will be fined. For any additional time parked on campus, you must start a new paid parking session.
Via paystation
On our Gorham and Portland campuses, walk-up paystations are located in every parking lot.
If the screensaver is on, tap the screen to get started.
Tap the Extend Parking button on the screen.
Via smartphone
Open the e-ticket you received when you initiated your parking session and tap the Extend Parking button.
Follow the prompts to add more time to your paid parking session.
The paystation will prompt you to swipe or tap your original method of payment to access your e-ticket.
The parking fee amount will automatically adjust based on your selection.
Your remaining session time appears in the top-right corner of the screen and adjusts automatically based on your selection.
Your new parking fee total will appear on the next screen.
We accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, Apply Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Credit cards can be inserted, tapped, or swiped.
You’ll receive a new text message and/or email with your updated parking session information.
If you have a smartphone, you can get your updated parking session details by using the camera app to scan the QR code that appears on the paystation screen (tap the link that appears if prompted).
Your new parking session expiration time is located in the top right-hand corner of the information you received after scanning the QR code or tapping the link in a text message or email.
If you experience any difficulty with your payment via paystation, QR code scan, or text-to-pay link, please contact ParkEngage customer support.
Email ParkEngage support
Additional ways to pay
University visitors & guests
If you’re attending an event or were invited by a specific department, you may have been given a validation or promo code that covers some or all of your parking costs.
For specific details about your validation or promo code, check with the department that provided it to you.
To start a paid parking session, locate a sign with a QR code to scan (and a text-to-pay option) or a paystation and enter the validation or promo code you were given into the Validation Code field.
You must start your paid parking session within the allotted grace period for each campus.
What are the grace periods?
NOTE: You cannot extend a validated parking session beyond its allotted time or you will be fined. For any additional time parked on campus, you must start a new paid parking session.
Events hosted by staff, faculty, & students
To provide free or discounted parking rates for your event attendees, you must submit your request at least 3 business days before your event date.
NOTE: To complete the request form, you’ll need to know your department billing codes. We need a processed interdepartmental order (IDO) to process parking validation requests.
University visitors & guests
If you were invited to campus by a specific department, you may have been given a parking pass that validates all of your parking costs.
For specific details about your parking pass, check with the department that provided it to you.
NOTE: You cannot extend a validated parking session beyond its allotted time or you will be fined. For any additional time parked on campus, you must start a new paid parking session.
Events hosted by staff, faculty, & students
To provide free or discounted parking rates for your event attendees, you must submit your request at least 3 business days before your event date.
NOTE: To complete the request form, you’ll need to know your department billing codes. We need a processed interdepartmental order (IDO) to process parking validation requests.
Starting July 1*: If you’re coming to campus for a specific event, there may be a ParkEngage tablet available at your destination. You can use it to start your paid parking session.
These tablets use the same screens and steps as our walk-up paystations.
Tablet locations:
- Osher School of Music events
- Theatre events
- Conference Services events
- Admissions events
- Glickman Family Library
This option will be available starting July 1.
If you’re a Sea Dogs fan who frequents Hadlock Field, you’ve probably received a confirmation email from SpotHero after reserving parking in our Portland campus garage or the lot next to the former Maine Law building.
SpotHero is a third-party service that allows visitors to reserve parking on campus via an online search for area parking. It helps us fill under-used parking areas, like Lot P6 (by the former Maine Law building), and extra space in the parking garages.
SpotHero is a separate vendor from HONK, Parking Revenue Recovery Services, and ParkEngage.
Refunds
If you voluntarily move out of Portland Commons during the fall semester, you can request a pro-rated refund based on the number of months left in the academic year and how much you’ve paid on your parking permit payment plan.
We don’t provide refunds for the following:
- Violations of University parking policies
- Illegal activity
- Typos and other user mistakes
- Parking permits and passes
- Validations, promo codes
- Permits with unpaid parking fees
- Portland Commons residents…
- who leave during or after January
- after starting in either the fall or spring term
- with outstanding payments on a parking permit payment plan
- dismissed for violating University policies
- who leave during or after January
Request a refund
Do you want to read our full parking rate policy?
Download the policy
Do you have questions or need assistance? We're happy to help!
Contact us
