As a UT Austin student myself, I understand the headache of parking on or near campus. Though there are many options to choose from, this doesn’t necessarily make the process easy. Whether you need short-term parking or a monthly parking contract, you can expect to compete with many others who are also looking for the best spot to park.
@rambleratx The Ultimate Guide to Parking In West Campus! #ut #utaustin #apartment #college #collegeliving #hookem #austin #westcampus ♬ Selfcare-demo – Bella Moulden
At Rambler, we have helped hundreds of students find housing, and understand that it is important to understand your options for parking near the University of Texas at Austin.
Luckily, there are many parking options on the UT Austin campus, as well as off-campus. Many student housing apartments in West Campus provide a variety of parking options for those looking to park near the University of Texas at Austin.
In this article, we will give you information about your on-campus and off-campus parking options, as well as pricing, so that you can fully understand your parking options.
Parking near the University of Texas at Austin
Parking Options: On-Campus
Photo courtesy of The University of Texas at Austin.
If you’re living on-campus or need to be on-campus frequently, you might be considering a parking spot on the University of Texas campus. We will discuss street and garage parking options, as well as pricing, on the UT Austin campus.
Street Parking
Looking to move into your dorm or drop off a friend at class? If you are looking for short-term parking options on-campus, UT has both metered street parking and loading zones. These parking spots are designed for those who are looking to park for just a few minutes up to two hours.
Metered parking is available in nine locations throughout UT’s main campus. For contactless parking, the ParkMobile app allows you to find and pay for parking on your phone without having to use the meter.
Loading zone parking spaces are also located throughout the UT Austin campus. In these spots, you may park with your hazard lights flashing for up to 30 minutes. These spaces have signs that indicate they are loading zones. They do not require a permit. However, the 30-minute time restriction, as well as the use of hazard lights is strictly enforced.
Garage Parking
Living on-campus? If you’re looking for on-campus parking for an extended time period, the University of Texas has 14 parking garages located throughout campus. UT offers both parking contracts and daily parking options in their garages for UT staff, students, and visitors.
Some of these garages are staffed, meaning there is a parking lot attendant on-site at the garage to assure that parking and payment go smoothly. Below, we have listed which garages are staffed vs. unstaffed.
Staffed garages:
- Brazos Garage (BRG)
- Conference Center Garage (CCG)
- Health Center Garage (HCG)
- Manor Garage (MAG)
- San Antonio Garage (SAG)
- Speedway Garage (SWG)
- Trinity Garage (TRG)
Unstaffed garages:
- East Campus Garage (ECG)
- Guadalupe Garage (GUG)
- Nueces Garage (NUG)
- Rowling Hall Garage (RHG)
- San Jacinto Garage (SJG)
- 27th Street Garage (TSG)
- Dobie Center Garage (DCG)
On the University of Texas at Austin Visitor Page, you will find a map of all campus garages available for download.
If you’d like more information on which permits are available for purchase, and which permits you qualify for, UT students, staff, and visitors can go to the My Parking Profile page on UT’s website.
Pricing
Garage parking at the University of Texas has daily parking rates ranging from, upon publication, $14 to $21, and also has pricing by the hour. You can read more about daily garage parking rates on UT’s Garage Daily Parking Rates page.
Daily parking is a good option if you just occasionally need to bring your car to campus. If you’re hoping to keep your car on campus all year or use it to commute to campus on a daily basis, you’ll want to look into getting a parking permit.
For 2023-2024, available student parking permits range from $169 to $253 depending on permit class, eligibility, and location. Specialized permit types range from $131 to $968, as well as free bike parking for all students who order.
The University of Texas at Austin street parking is available for up to two hours, at a cost of $1 per 15-minute increment on weekdays from 7:30 am to 5:45 pm.
Need more time? If you’ll need over two hours of parking, UT directs students and visitors to park in a garage.
On the weekends and after hours, parking is also available for $2 per hour. The only exception is metered parking in Lot 116, which is priced at $5 per day.
Parking Options: West Campus
Located directly west of the University of Texas campus, as the name implies, is the West Campus neighborhood.
Read Next: 8 Ways to Save Money on Student Housing in West Campus
If you are living in West Campus, you might be looking for a parking contract or day-to-day parking in the neighborhood. We will now discuss street and garage parking options, as well as pricing, in the West Campus neighborhood.
Street Parking
West Campus has many options for street parking, including both short-term and extended time periods.
In the Central-North Austin area, including the West Campus and North Campus neighborhoods, paid street parking is available Monday through Saturday from 8 am to 6 pm. Outside of these hours, street parking is free in these parking spaces.
Parking during these hours without paying will put you at risk of being ticketed. Be sure to keep track of time to avoid a parking ticket!
If you’d like more information on paid, on-street parking in West Campus Austin, visit the Paid Parking page on the AustinTexas.gov website.
Garage Parking
Student housing apartments in West Campus typically offer long-term garage parking for residents, and often the public, at an additional fee.
Resident parking can usually be purchased for the duration of your lease, or by month, but some garages offer daily parking. Since it varies by the apartment complex, contact the apartment that you are most interested in for details on their specific policy.
If you need parking outside of the apartment in which you plan to live, parking contracts are a great option. Contract parking is the rental of a parking space in a specific facility at a prepaid rate. It is typically offered in increments of one month up to one year.
Contract parking works the same way as resident parking, but you can purchase a parking contract outside of the property at which you reside.
Apartments and businesses in West Campus that offer contract garage parking include:
- Quarters on Campus
- The Callaway House
- 26 West
- The Castilian
- University Co-op
Interested in purchasing a parking contract? Since pricing and terms vary by the garage, contact the establishment that you are most interested in for specific terms.
In the case of both resident and contract parking, garages will often offer two types of spots – reserved and unreserved.
Reserved parking spaces are dedicated spots. If you sign for this type of parking space, one will generally be assigned to you at the time of signing or move-in. These spots typically cost a bit more than unreserved spots but are usually located in the most convenient spots in the garage (i.e., near the elevator, entry, or exit).
Unreserved parking is typically offered at a slightly lower cost, but you will not have one spot assigned to you. Instead, you will be able to park at any open spot in the garage that is not marked “reserved.”
Since offerings vary by the garage, contact the establishment that you are interested in and ask whether they offer reserved and/or unreserved parking spaces.
Pricing
In the West Campus neighborhood, garage parking prices vary greatly. Prices range from around $80 to $300 per spot per month for both contract and resident parking. Older apartments with large garages, such as 26 West, will fall on the lower end of this spectrum. Newer apartments with smaller garages, such as Villas on Rio, will fall on the upper end of this spectrum.
Another factor is whether your parking is reserved or unreserved. This will result in a monthly price that is a bit higher or lower, respectively. Reserved parking is sometimes referred to as premium parking.
Street parking rates can be paid by mobile payment app, or at a pay station, depending on your preference and needs.
Mobile apps used for payment include Park ATX and Google Maps/Google Pay. Customers with Google accounts also have the option to pay online with Google Pay.
If you plan to pay at a pay station, you will enter your license plate number to begin your session. You will then pay with credit card or coin. Card transactions have a $0.25 charge to cover processing costs.
We hope that this guide has helped you understand your parking options on campus and in West Campus.
If you are interested in living at Rambler, please contact our leasing staff, who are happy to answer any questions you may have about our parking options.
