Navigating Parking and Transportation at UCF Downtown

The University of Central Florida (UCF) Downtown campus offers a variety of parking and transportation options to accommodate students, faculty, staff, and visitors. From driving and parking to utilizing public transportation and campus shuttles, there are several ways to access and navigate the downtown campus and connect to the main campus.

Parking Options at UCF Downtown

Garages and Permits

There are about 2,000 parking spaces available to support the downtown campus. To attain parking access on campus, a parking permit is required. The department has implemented virtual parking permits for students and employees. If you are new to campus, you must register your vehicle and purchase a virtual permit at parking.ucf.edu. Once permits are purchased, your vehicle’s license plate is your parking permit. Remember to park nose-in where your vehicle plate is facing the drive lanes.

Amelia I Parking Garage (PG3): This is the primary parking garage for “D” (green) and “R” (orange) permits. To enter the Amelia Garage, turn right onto Alexander Place from N. Hughey Avenue. Turn right again onto Ronald Blocker Ave. The entrance is on your right-hand side. When exiting the garage, you will exit onto Ronald Blocker Ave., but can only turn right.
Parramore Garage (PG1): This garage serves faculty and staff with “B” (red) and “C” (blue) parking permits. The first level of the Parramore Garage offers daily virtual permit parking only. Overflow parking for daily virtual permits is available on the 4th floor of the Parramore Garage or on any level of the Amelia Garage. Daily permits will be valid in all of the “D” (green) parking spaces in the Parramore Garage or UCF Amelia Garage.
UnionWest Garage: This is the only overnight parking option on campus. UnionWest Residents - Students who live at UCF Downtown’s UnionWest at Creative Village community must lease a space from the UnionWest garage since it is the only overnight-parking option on campus. The UnionWest garage also has hourly parking available for visitors. Once you have parked, proceed to the UnionWest entrance at the corner of W. Livingston St. and N. Terry Avenue to check in with the front desk and receive further instructions.

Virtual Parking Permits

In order to attain parking access on campus, a parking permit is required. The department has implemented virtual parking permits for students and employees. If you are new to campus, you must register your vehicle and purchase a virtual permit. Once permits are purchased at parking.ucf.edu, your vehicle’s license plate is your parking permit. Remember to park nose-in where your vehicle plate is facing the drive lanes.

Individuals who would like to register a second vehicle to their account can do so for an additional fee of $15. The second vehicle must be owned and registered to the original permit holder or within the same household. The second registration will expire on the same date as the first permit. While the use virtual permits remove the need to transfer parking permits between vehicles, only one vehicle per account can be parked on any one of the UCF campuses (Downtown, Health Sciences, Main, Research Park and Rosen College) at a time. If your vehicle is in the shop for repairs, the account holder can do a temporary vehicle change by manually switching the vehicle’s tag number online. Pricing for 150-day and 365-day permits vary depending on the type of permit purchased, such as Resident and commuting students.

Daily and Visitor Parking

Visitors to UCF Downtown may purchase an $8 daily parking permit using UCF’s virtual permits. The first level of the Parramore Garage offers daily virtual permit parking only. Overflow parking for daily virtual permits is available on the 4th floor of the Parramore Garage or on any level of the Amelia Garage. Daily permits will be valid in all of the “D” (green) parking spaces in the Parramore Garage or UCF Amelia Garage.

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Metered Parking

Metered parking along Livingston Street, as well as an hourly parking lot on Livingston Street adjacent to the Marriott Hotel, is managed by the City of Orlando. Drivers must pay for parking at designated spaces by using the ParkMobile app or by scanning the QR code on the signs by the designated spaces.

Shuttle Services

UCF Downtown Shuttles

UCF Parking and Transportation Services operates 15 daily roundtrip express shuttles between the UCF main campus’ Lynx Transit Center (between Garage A and Garage I) and UCF Downtown. The shuttles operate Monday through Thursday, from 6:30 AM to 10:30 PM and Friday from 6:30 AM to 8:30 PM, except on holidays or campus closures.

Grocery Shuttle

The Grocery Shuttle is available to UCF and Valencia students to take you from the downtown campus to the Publix at The Paramount on Lake Eola, 400 E. Central Blvd. Along Livingston Street, in front of Dr. Phillips Academic Commons, 528 W. A valid UCF or Valencia Downtown ID is required prior to boarding the Shuttle.

Main Campus Departures and Downtown Drop-offs

Main campus departures take place at the LYNX Transit Center (between Parking Garages A and I). Drop-offs and pick-ups for the downtown campus will be on Livingston Street in front of Dr. Phillips Academic Commons.

Public Transportation

LYNX

Getting around downtown Orlando is easy with free Lymmo lines, and all UCF students, faculty and staff also receive free rides anywhere in Orlando on LYNX, the rapid bus transit system. UCF students and employees can ride all LYNX routes for free, whether they’re near campus or not, with a valid UCF ID.

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LYMMO

The free LYMMO lines are an easy, convenient way to get around downtown Orlando, with two lines stopping at UCF Downtown. The rapid transport system operates on weekdays, with hours varying on the weekend.

SunRail

SunRail is a commuter rail system with 17 stations that run through Orange, Osceola, Seminole and Volusia counties. The closest station is at LYNX Central Station. University of Central Florida students, faculty and staff pay a $25 annual fee. Alumni can join for a $35 annual fee.

Alternative Transportation

Car Sharing

Rental rates start at $8.50 per hour and $69 per day. There is one car available near UCF Downtown and additional cars are available throughout the greater downtown Orlando area. UCF Downtown campus, City of Orlando Livingston Parking Lot (corner of Livingston St.

Bikes

There are 65 bike racks on campus that are free to use. Bikes should be locked to the racks using U-bolt lock and cable combinations. Students with a valid UCF ID can also take advantage of SG’s free Bike N’ Gold bike share program as alternative to driving. Bike N’ Gold will operate 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. Monday through Friday. Weekly check-ins at the bike shop are required to ensure the bike is in proper working condition. Students may come, free of charge, and have their bikes repaired with quality service by our Bike Repair Team.

Lyft

SG has partnered with Lyft to provide students with discounts for the ride-sharing app. The codes are only valid for two rides each month and the rides must be within a specific zone around UCF.

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Spin Scooters

Spin scooters will be available to help students better navigate the university’s 1,415-acre main campus. The scooters will operate from 5:00 am to 11:00 pm, will only be operational on campus, and require downloading the Spin app, which is available on Android and Apple devices. Scooters will be available at 15 charging stations across campus and will cost $1 to unlock and $0.15 per minute to ride.

Important Parking Regulations

Nose-in Parking: Back-in parking is not allowed on any UCF campus. The proper way to park your vehicle in all lots and garages is nose-in and tail-out. A shuttle outside of Millican Hall.
Accessible Parking: Individuals who possess a valid state-issued (blue) disabled placard or a temporary (red) state disabled placard assigned to their name. Disabled placards are issued by The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) not the university. Individual is required to purchase a UCF parking permit of appropriate classification, i.e., Employee or Student, or Daily Visitor to park on the campus. Individuals with such appropriate permit may park in any available disabled parking space on the campus.
Commuting Students: Students traveling to main campus must purchase a General/Student parking permit and park in designated General/Student lots and garages. Daily permits are $8 and are valid for 24-hours from the time of purchase.
Main Campus and Rosen Campus Residents: Students who live on main and Rosen campuses must park in the designated spaces for their assigned housing community Monday through Friday between 7:00 am and 5:30 pm. Vehicles parked in designated residential areas without a valid residential permit are subject to tow. On weekdays, campus residents are not allowed to park in student or employee spaces, including the general parking lots and garages, and will be subject to parking citations before 5:30 pm.

Additional Resources

UCF Mobile App

Visit the Parking icon on the UCF Mobile app to find out how many spaces are available in each parking garage on main campus and view various parking maps. Under Notifications, select “Explore all Channels”, select Parking Availability Updates.

Parking and Transportation Services

Parking and Transportation Services is located in the Campus Store in Dr. Phillips Academic Commons, Room 151.

Motorist Assistance

If you’re having issues with your vehicle, Parking and Transportation Services provides motorist assistance with battery jumps, tire inflations, finding your vehicle or opening your locked doors.

Safety and Security

UCF Downtown has a dedicated police force at the campus, available 24/7, located in a sub-station on Amelia Street. The campus includes uniformed patrols, video surveillance, blue light phones, and emergency alert systems.

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