Materials Distribution Services

Day to Day Transportation’s Field Service Operations
Normal Hours (Monday-Friday 7 am-10 pm): Field Service Operations is responsible for the issuance of citations as a way to improve compliance with Transportation Service’s parking policies.  Parking policies help ensure that parking resources are used safely and efficiently.  Illegally parked vehicles are subject to towing if the vehicle

• has unpaid parking citations or fees,
• is a safety hazard,
• has an altered, counterfeit, or unauthorized permit,
• is deemed necessary by Transportation Services or by the University Police.

Field Service staff may identify an illegally parked vehicle while patrolling a campus parking lot that meets the criteria for a tow.  This Field Service officer will contact the Contractor directly by phone and indicate the parking lot location, the type of vehicle and any specific details related to the tow.  The Contractor will indicate an estimated time of arrival.  The Field Service officer will place their vehicle behind the vehicle to be towed and a citation will be issued and placed on the illegally parked vehicle.  The Field Service Officer will wait behind the vehicle until the arrival of the tow truck.  The Field Service Officer will inform the tow truck driver if the vehicle should be impounded or relocated and what the balance owed.  A tow receipt is initiated by the tow truck driver and signed by the Field Service Officer.  A copy of the receipt is retained by both parties and the Contractor attaches a copy of the receipt(s) to be submitted for monthly payment.

After Hours Towing (Seven Days a Week 10 pm-7 am): The University Police Department often request vehicles to be towed out of parking lots for safety reasons after hours.  The Contractor is contacted directly from University Police dispatching.  The University Police Officer will place a citation on the windshield of the vehicle that includes the tow and violation fees.  The tow truck driver will arrive and relocate any vehicle with a citation on its windshield.

Special Events Operations – Variable Times
Typical Special Events:  There are approximately 80 “special events” that occur on Campus each year.  These special events most often occur at the Stadium or Kohl Center or at smaller venues across campus.  Transportation Services Special Events Staff will secure parking lots in proximity to the event and either sell parking or hold for customer’s advanced reserved parking permits.  Often the parking lots are pre-sold to capacity and require Special Events Staff to call the Contractor to remove vehicles without a proper parking permit to allow for adequate lot utilization. 

In order to ensure adequate space in the parking lot for a special event, it is often required that vehicles without proper permits are towed.  The Contractor is called when a vehicle is a candidate for a tow.  The Field Service Officer will call the Contractor for each vehicle identified.  The Special Events Officer will inform the tow truck driver if the vehicle should be impounded or relocated and what the balance owed will be.  A tow receipt is initiated by the tow truck driver and signed by the Special Events Officer.  A copy of the receipt is retained by both parties and the Contractor attaches a copy of the receipt(s) to be submitted for monthly payment.

Badger Football Games:  The most prominent special events held on the UW campus are the UW Badger Football games which occur 6-7 times per year.  The Contractor is notified by Transportation Services of the game dates and times and a tow start time is established and agreed upon.  The Contractor sends a minimum of three and a maximum of five towing vehicles at once and follows the Field Services Officer from parking lot to parking lot and relocates vehicles to the west end of Campus or to the tow company lot if deemed necessary by Transportation Services.  A list indicating each vehicle is maintained by the Field Services Officer instead of issuing individual towing receipts.  The University pays the Contractor by the per hour towing rate instead of a per vehicle tow charge.