The new $5 bills continue to confuse many Parking and Transportation Services cash machines on campus.
UT has 10 parking garage cash machines on campus, but only the three, located in the San Jacinto garage, can accept the new currency, said PTS Garages Manager Dennis Delaney. PTS upgraded the three machines Tuesday with a free software tune-up, but the remaining seven are older-style machines that lack parts to make them compatible. The vendor had extra parts for just two machines in stock, so the upgrades will take about two to three weeks and will cost about $300 per machine.
"We'll slowly cycle through and get them all done," Delaney said. "There's a lot of little security features that are in the fives. They have to figure out each one to make sure they're recognized."
Delaney said the U.S. Mint does not send the bills to vendors that need to program cash machines before circulation.
"They can't program for them until they get one in their hands," Delaney said. "Anytime they do a currency change like this, there is a bit of a delay. It's typically about a month afterward before everything gets resolved."
Last year, 219,933 customers, or one-third of all parking garage transactions, used the cash machines. Delaney said garage officials posted signs to notify customers about the glitch. Individuals with only new $5 bills in their pockets can pay at the cashier desk when exiting garages.
He said PTS has not been hit by a wave of the bills because the currency is still new and many people pay with debit or credit cards.
"It used to be that all you would see is cash, and now we've gotten to the point that it's probably 75 percent credit card," Delaney said. "I don't think we have really that many new fives come through yet. I don't think it's quite hit the circulation as much as the old fives."
Some students paying at the Brazos Garage on Monday laughed at the confusion but said they would be annoyed if they had a new $5 bill.
"It's pretty ridiculous," said kinesiology sophomore Scott Hart. "I'd be pretty aggravated."
Government sophomore Megan McDowell said she understands the bills are still new but that it could become a problem for students in a few weeks.
"I don't want have to make sure that I have the right $5 bill in my pocket so I can get out of the garage," she said. "I would be a little mad because I've already had the $5 bills come my way. Right now, it's not a problem, but in three weeks, I might be a little pissed if I'm stuck in a garage."
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