Students who want to park on campus will have a new option this month after a Student Association push for cheaper rates for commuter students.

A new parking contract, which began Feb. 1, allows commuter parkers to pay a monthly fee of $133 plus 12 percent D.C. tax. The current charge for campus parking is $5.00 per day plus $3.50 in overtime charges when students park before 1 p.m. and leave after 5:30 p.m.

University Parking Services currently accommodates about 800 students every day, 750 of whom are commuter students.

“We thought there were a number of students who could benefit from (the new contract), primarily graduate students,” Parking Services Program Manager Byron Wills said. “We think we’ll meet the needs of students who spend a long day here. This will really help them out.”

Wills and GW Associate Vice President for Business Affairs Al Ingle created the new contract after discussions with SA Sen. Patrick Macmanus (at large). Macmanus said the goal of these negotiations was to lower parking prices, which he described as “exorbitant.”

“We just didn’t understand the difference between the $164 that students pay and the $112 that staff members pay to park. We wanted to look into whether students can have (monthly) contract parking for lower prices,” Macmanus said.

“My primary concern at this point is that students be on a fair and equal playing field with the administration,” he added.

Macmanus said that if the new contract works out and students take advantage of the cheaper rates, more reductions could be a possibility.

In addition to the daily and monthly commuter rates, current campus parking options include a $163.15 monthly overnight plan. Students who choose to participate in the new plan will not have overnight parking privileges, Wills said.