Although K-State student parking permits cost more than ever before, there has been no difference in the number of permit sales, said Gary Leitnaker, assistant vice president for the Division of Human Resources and Parking. Student permits are now $95, a $20 increase from last year's price. Official figures for total permits sold will not be available for some time, since people continue to buy permits throughout the year. However, Leitnaker estimated Parking Services will sell 9,900 by the end of the year. The increase from the 2006-07 school year, as well as subsequent increases over the next two years, will help pay for a parking garage and lot maintenance, he said. "We've gone awhile without an increase - at least a couple of years," said Leitnaker, who also said he does not anticipate rates will decrease in the future. While students will have to accept the high cost of building an expensive parking garage, K-State's situation is not unlike those at other Big XII schools. Karen Sechler, administrative assistant for the University of Kansas Parking and Transit Department, said each of KU's annual permits have increased by $20, which is less than the previous year's $55 increase. Annual student permits range from a $160 general student permit to a $205 freshman permit. "Ours are just going to increase even more," Sechler said. "It's going to get worse." Sechler said the difference between freshman and upperclassman prices is new this year and was implemented to alleviate the problem of overselling parking permits. KU freshmen park farther away from campus than upperclassmen and are transported to campus by bus. The increased price of permits goes toward a recently completed $10 million parking lot and the purchase of five new buses to accommodate freshmen, Sechler said. The University of Oklahoma also has seen increases in permit prices. The school built two parking garages, one in 1997 and one in 2002. "This is the first year we haven't had an increase," said Rick Adamo, operations manager of Parking and Transit Services at OU. Annual student permits are steady at $195 after a few years of increases, Adamo said. The current rates are expected to continue. Throughout the years of increased rates, however, Adamo said student sales remained constant.