With the cost of gas, electric service, water and rent, off-campus students agree they don't have the budget for one common fee in Oxford: parking tickets.

This year, the Office of Parking and Transportation Services offers off-campus students on-campus parking via a purple permit offered in years past.

For $50 per semester or $100 per year, purple permit holders may park in Ditmer at all times, in West Millett during the day and on various campus lots after business hours.

In addition, the office has opened its two parking garages, one on north campus and one on Campus Avenue, to students willing to pay to park.

On- or off-campus students with any other valid permit may purchase a Campus Avenue Garage overnight permit for $75 per month or $300 per semester. This grants them overnight parking privileges and unlimited access to the garage.

Beginning this year, the same offer applies to permits to park in the North Campus Garage.

Although some are willing to pay for parking services, the relatively low ratio of off-campus students with parking permits indicates not all are willing to pay.

"I thought about buying a parking permit to park in Millett, so I could walk to work," said junior Jill Cook, an employee at Martin Dining Hall. "But then I realized that I'd be working to pay off my parking permit, and I'd still have to walk a good distance from Millett to Martin."

Perry Gordon, director of parking and transportation services, said all parking is quite limited on campus as well as the uptown section of Oxford.

However, he said his office attempts to create parking opportunities convenient to Miami Metro routes.

Gordon said numbers are on par with previous years for purchases of purple permits, and said he is pleased with the interest in the garage permits.

During the course of the 2007-08 school year, 1,183 off-campus students purchased parking permits, including permits for a one or both semesters and temporary permits.

The number decreased by 8 percent in the 2008-09 year, with 1,087 off-campus students paying to park.

As of Aug. 21, 253 permits had been sold; Gordon said this number is similar to the number of end-of-summer buyers in previous years.

In 2008-09, parking and transportation services sold 125 permits for the Campus Avenue Garage.

As of Aug. 28, 38 monthly access passes, which allow for daytime parking during one month, were sold for the North Garage. Thirty-five overnight passes were sold.

Gordon said this is comparable with sales for the Campus Avenue Garage, and student interest indicates more permits will be purchased in upcoming months.

"We're optimistic that we will have a lot of interest here," he said. "We worked with the student senate in deciding to open the North Campus Garage for student parking. We see, with the new plan, an opportunity to provide a service that people will pay for."