Campus parking permit renewal is the week a permit office finds out how much of its work is still manual. Lines form at the counter, hangtags run short, and someone comes in before dawn to change rates by hand. None of that gets fixed during the rush. HONK’s Ewan Forrest made the same point in a back to school video, naming two quick wins up front: ditching physical hangtags and skipping those 6 AM manual rate changes. Here are those two, plus three more changes worth making before the next renewal window. HONK’s post on what changes for a permit office covers the wider switch, and its breakdown of what a campus parking space earns in a year shows what a slow renewal puts at risk.
Why Retire Physical Hangtags Before Renewal?
Because the hangtag is the step everything else waits on. A physical permit has to be printed, stocked, handed out or mailed, and replaced when it is lost. Paper permits can cost at least $10,000 a year to produce. During renewal that turns into a line at the counter and a box of tags someone has to count.
A digital permit is tied to the license plate instead, so there is nothing to hand over. The parker renews online, the permit is live as soon as it is approved, and enforcement checks the plate. HONK’s Permit Manager deploys permits in minutes, which means the busiest week of the year no longer depends on how fast the office can process paper. It also ends the lost tag request, which arrives at exactly the moment the office has the least time for it.
How Do You Stop the 6 AM Rate Changes?
By setting rates and rules in software ahead of time. Rate changes at the start of a term, for new permit types or a lot that opens late, should not need someone on site before the first car arrives.
HONK’s Permit Manager lets the office set custom rules, rates and billing, prepaid, monthly or pay as you go, for each group of parkers. Control Center gives the team self serve rate and zone management, so a change is made once, from a desk, instead of on site before the first car arrives. The office can prepare its new permit types in a quiet week. Nobody has to be in the lot at dawn to make a price right, and nobody has to remember to change it back.
What Should Move Online Besides the Permit Itself?
The application and the approval. Renewal is slow when every request needs a person to check a document, confirm eligibility and approve it. Most of those checks repeat the same rule hundreds of times in a single week.
Permit Manager handles applications with customizable approval workflows, document verification and automated eligibility validation for residents and special groups. The office writes the rule once, and the software applies it to every request, leaving staff with only the exceptions. It also leaves a record of every decision, which helps when a parker disputes a denial. A residence hall permit that needs proof of housing, for example, can be checked against the document the student uploads, instead of a copy someone brings to the counter.
How Can Renewals Run Themselves?
With recurring billing and automatic notices. The most predictable work in a permit office is the reminder that a permit is about to expire, followed by the renewal itself. Both can run without staff.
Permit Manager sets up automated subscription billing for ongoing permit renewals, and fixed term permits of any length, from hours to years, with automated expiry notifications. A parker on a recurring permit simply renews, and one on a fixed term gets told before it lapses. The office stops chasing renewals and starts reviewing the few that need a decision, such as a change of lot or a lapsed payment. Recurring billing also smooths revenue, because renewals arrive on schedule instead of in one spike at the start of term.
What About Visitors During the First Weeks?
Give them a way to pay that never touches the counter. The start of a term brings visitors as well as permit holders: parents on move in day, prospective students and guests for the first events. If they have to buy a daily pass from the office, they join the same line as the renewals.
A guest checkout keeps them out of it. At McGill, students and daily visitors stopped calling the parking office to pay after the switch to HONK, and now scan a QR code on the signage or text a code instead, with no app. For the permit office, every visitor who pays from a phone is one less person in the queue during the week it matters most.
In What Order Should a Campus Make These Changes?
Before the renewal window opens, starting with the one that removes the most counter time. Each change above is simple on its own, and none of them is simple in the middle of a rush. The window to make them is the stretch between terms, when the counter is quiet and the team can test a new process on a small group first. For most offices the hangtag goes first. Then move applications online, then renewals, then rates, and set up visitor checkout before the first week. Measure the counter line before and after, because the shorter line is the result a dean will notice.
HONK runs all five on one platform. Permit Manager handles digital permits tied to plates, online approvals, recurring billing and fixed terms from hours to years, and FlexPass gives part time parkers a prepaid option. Control Center gives the office its rates, zones and reports, and guest checkout covers visitors. Watch HONK’s back to school video with Ewan Forrest and read about Permit Manager, then book a demo before your next renewal window.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can campus parking permits renew automatically?
Yes. HONK’s Permit Manager supports automated subscription billing for recurring permits and expiry notifications for fixed term ones.
Do digital permits need a hangtag?
No. A digital permit is tied to the license plate, and enforcement checks the plate.
Can a permit office change rates without being on site?
Yes. HONK lets the office set rules and rates in software and manage rates and zones from Control Center.
How do visitors pay during a busy first week?
Through a guest checkout. At McGill, visitors scan a QR code or text a code and pay with no app.
Sources
- HONK, Back to school quick wins with Ewan Forrest, LinkedIn post, 24 August 2026
- HONK, Permit Manager, product page, read 2026-10-12
- HONK, Control Center, product page, read 2026-10-12
- HONK, HONK Goes Live at McGill University: Making Parking Easier for Students and Visitors, press release, 19 February 2026
- HONK, Digital Campus Parking: What Changes for a Permit Office, 14 August 2026
