Campus Services helps make each Roadrunner’s journey a success

Select meal plans may be used at on-campus retail dining locations like Java City.

AUGUST 15, 2022 — As more than 34,000 new and returning UTSA students get ready for the new academic year, Campus Services is here to provide important resources to help each of them succeed on their Roadrunner journey.

Campus Services enhances the quality of campus life for students, faculty, staff and guests through the outstanding delivery of essential services, programs and facilities.

Below is a rundown for how Roadrunners can get the most out of their campus experience with UTSACards, meal plans, parking, transportation and more.

Getting a UTSACard: The ticket to the Roadrunner experience

The UTSACard is the Roadrunner community’s official identification card. It provides access to meal plans, sporting events, residence halls, final exams and more. ’Runners can also load up their UTSACard with Rowdy Dollars and use it like a prepaid debit card for purchases at Print Spots, the Rowdy Campus Store and UTSA Dining locations.

Current UTSA students, faculty and staff can stop by Campus Services at the Main or Downtown campuses to obtain a new or replacement UTSACard, and walk out with their freshly printed card that day. Individuals can also order their cards online. Just be sure to allow Campus Services plenty of time to process the request and mail the card.

Fueling up with a meal plan

Whether living on campus or commuting, Campus Services has meal plan options to make dining on campus easy. All meal plans provide convenient access to Roadrunner Café, UTSA’s all-you-care-to-eat campus restaurant which serves up a wide variety of fresh food options for all nutritional lifestyles and preferences. Select meal plans also offer Meal Trades which can be redeemed at any on-campus retail dining location, such as Rising Roll, Starbucks, Freebirds World Burrito, Chick-fil-A, Einstein Bros. Bagels and more.

Getting around: Parking permits, The Runner and VIA U-Pass

Those planning to park on campus will need a valid permit. A wide variety of permit options are available to suit various needs and budgets, including surface, garage, garage reserved and evening-only permits. It’s fast and easy to order a permit on MyParking. Be sure to allow five to seven days to receive it by mail. Convenient payment options include credit or debit, add to tuition and fees (for students), and monthly payroll deductions (for faculty and staff).

To aid Roadrunners on where to park, each parking permit has a list of valid parking areas for that permit type printed on the back. Visit the Campus Services website for clear, color-coded parking maps which identify designated parking zones on each UTSA campus.

For those who don’t come to campus frequently enough to warrant purchasing a parking permit, FastPass, a reloadable parking pass for hourly parking in the Main Campus garages, is an option to consider. Another great hourly parking solution for occasional on-campus ‘Runners is ParkMobile, which allows individuals to park in designated hourly parking zones throughout campus and pay the hourly parking rate from their phone. The parking time can also be extended from any location—no worries if a meeting or study session runs longer than expected.

UTSA’s Main Campus transit system, The Runner, provides service to and from on-campus parking lots and select nearby apartment complexes. Track a shuttle’s arrival time and view the live bus map and route schedules with The Runner GPS—download the free app on the App Store or Google Play.

UTSA’s Main Campus transit system, The Runner, provides service to and from on-campus parking lots and select nearby apartment complexes. Track a shuttle’s arrival time and view the live bus map and route schedules with The Runner GPS—download the free app on the App Store or Google Play.

For those who want to leave their vehicle at home and are looking for public transportation options, there is the VIA U-Pass. UTSA has partnered with VIA Metropolitan Transit to provide free, unlimited bus service, as well as on-demand rides through VIA Link, to all current UTSA students, faculty and staff. ’Runners can access their VIA U-Pass with free the VIA goMobile+ ticketing app by signing up with their UTSA email address.

As UTSA continues to expand its presence downtown, most recently with the Southwest Campus, convenient options to travel from campus to campus are in high demand. With the VIA U-Pass, faculty, staff and students can save themselves the drive—and valuable gas money—by letting VIA take them from one campus to another. Check out the campus-to-campus VIA routes available on the Campus Services website.

— Elyse Brown