Commuters who leave their cars at North Springs or Sandy Springs MARTA stations will pay $2 more per day starting Sept. 14, the first systemwide parking rate increase the transit agency has announced since 2009.

North Springs, the Red Line's northern terminus at 7010 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, will go from $8 to $10 a day for long-term parking. Sandy Springs station on Mount Vernon Highway will rise from $5 to $7.

The free parking window is also shrinking. Drivers who currently have 24 hours before a charge kicks in will have just 14 hours under the new policy. Anyone who parks and returns within 14 hours still pays nothing.

MARTA announced the changes Thursday, Aug. 20, according to 11Alive. The agency said the $2 increase across all nine affected stations should generate roughly $500,000 in additional annual revenue systemwide.

The agency said the money will help recover the cost of recent upgrades to automated parking facilities, including new gates, payment kiosks and license-plate readers, according to CBS Atlanta. It will also fund planned security and lighting improvements. MARTA's stated goal is for its parking operations to cover their own costs without drawing on tax dollars or train fares.

Seven other stations are affected: College Park, Doraville and Lindbergh will join North Springs at the $10 tier, while Dunwoody, Kensington, Lenox and Medical Center will match Sandy Springs at $7. Stations that currently offer free parking will not change.

Even with the increase, MARTA says the rates remain below what commercial garages charge near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and in Buckhead business districts. End-of-line stations last saw a rate adjustment in 2017, but the broader system had not moved prices in 17 years.

The new rates take effect Sept. 14. Current pricing is still listed on MARTA's parking fees page at $8 for North Springs and $5 for Sandy Springs.