K-State Transitions to HONK to Improve Campus Parking Experience
- Aubrey Weishaar
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
HONK mobile is coming to Kansas State University as Parking Services transitions from ParkMobile to HONK to improve accessibility and create a more user-friendly parking experience across campus.
The switch was prompted after numerous issues occurred with ParkMobile, including app updates, accessibility, and payments. The new app HONK is slowly rolling out to the K-State campus.
Off-campus student Caden Parker says the change is a positive move
“I actually think the switch to HONK is a good thing. ParkMobile could be kind of frustrating sometimes, so if this makes parking easier, I’m all for it,” said Caden Parker.
Robyn Alexander and Chelsea Biltoft from K-State parking services share more on what’s behind the switch and what students, staff, and visitors can expect moving forward.
Chelsea Biltoft “We did do the parking garage as our first phase. The second phase, we’re shutting down the meters and the pay locations from ParkMobile to HONK.
Currently, 45 parking meters have been replaced, including those surrounding McCain Auditorium and Anderson Hall. The remaining 95 meters will be replaced over the summer to prepare for the 2026 fall semester.
“We are trying to go coinless to be more convenient. You can tap to pay, you can use HONK, you can also swipe your debit or credit card,” said Biltoft.
To spread the word about the switch in motion, parking services have been focusing on communication aspects.
"We've tried to communicate as much as possible. We've reached out to the Collegian, and we've also posted on K-State Today and got signs up to communicate," Biltoft said.
A huge reason for transitioning to HONK was the convenience that ParkMobile was missing out on. “We wanted something that was way more user-friendly and way faster. Your generation is used to being able to do things very quickly and I feel like that was part of the problem with ParkMobile is because their system was not as user friendly as others. People got frustrated with the slowness or the wait time of it all,” said Alexander.
On the contrary, K-State students and visitors are curious if the switch from ParkMobile to HONK is giving them more parking tickets, this is incorrect as this is the first time that the parking services has been fully staffed.
“We are for the first time since Covid fully staffed. So there are more people out writing citations, which allows them to cover more areas,” said Alexander.
Kambrey, another student at Kansas State University, says the transition caught her off guard.
“Well, I didn't even know they switched apps. I went to park in the garage and couldn’t find the lot on ParkMobile, so I realized something was off. Then I had to download and figure out HONK while I was already in a rush. It just didn’t feel convenient at the time, but I hope over time it becomes easier.”
Looking towards the future and any future parking issues, Alexander, the parking services manager, wants to inform viewers that they are always available to help.
“Any time they have a question or concern or just a—oh, I don't know if I'm thinking about that in the right context—just call us, reach out. If it's going to help people feel more comfortable or less anxious about parking on campus, we are more than happy to do that; that's what we are here for.”
As the campus continues to move forward, the focus remains on creating a more convenient experience for all Wildcats and as Alexander puts it,
“I mean, HONK is just so easy.”
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