To mirror a shift in thought, Parking and Transportation Services recently conducted a name switch.

The entity in charge of the University of Utah’s parking lots and shuttle buses is now calling itself Transportation and Parking Services.

“We don’t want people to think all we do is parking,” said Alma Allred, director of parking services.

U spokeswoman Ann Floor said the idea came up during a “Transit Now” committee meeting, which involves representatives from campus and the Utah Transit Authority.

“They are reversing the words to put more emphasis on transportation, so students think about the whole spectrum of choices they have,” she said.

Allred said part of the impetus behind the name change is to get people to change their automobile centered attitudes.

While the name change will not result in any substantive alteration of the way parking services operates, Allred said it does mirror a real change in focus that has taken place in the last 10 years.

In that time, parking services has created its shuttle bus program, which has expanded almost annually since then.

The U also has a contract with UTA that allows everyone who holds a U ID to ride the bus for free.

The switch is still underway; while the main banner on the Web site (www.parking.utah.edu) is Transportation and Parking Services, the text on the page still reads Parking and Transportation Services.