The University of Hawaii at Manoa is proposing to raise parking fees for the first time in eight years and use the money to repair its aging parking facilities.

The new rates, affecting students and employees, would be phased in over six years starting in the fall of 2019.

The student rate would rise from $35.50 per month now to $41.50 next year and increase gradually to $58.50 in the 2025 fiscal year. The employee rate in the lower campus structure would also go to $41.50 next year and climb more steeply to $77 by 2025.

Daytime visitors would continue to pay a $5 flat rate in the parking garage until 2021 when it would rise to $6.

Open houses will be held at Campus Center Courtyard from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday and on Sept. 18, with staff available to answer questions about the plan. The proposal must also go to the UH Board of Regents, where the community will be able to offer testimony.

The current annual cost to park on campus is roughly a third of the rates charged at commercial garages near campus, according to a chart posted by the university.

The new funds would help cover improvements including railing repairs, fire safety upgrades, resurfacing, elevator modernization and wall repairs. They also would go toward personnel costs in the commuter services program, which is funded solely by parking fees, and handles parking, enforcement and alternate transport such as the Rainbow Shuttle and bike facilities.

More information is available at Commuter Services or send questions to uhmpark@hawaii.edu.