METRO Considering Charging For Parking At Park & Ride Lots

[Slick Vik]

Not really. Folks at work who ride van pools tell me it's between $100 and $200 per month per person, depending on how many riders there are. And, there are apparently subsidies available.

The vans are expensive the subsidy isn't much either it's really only cheap if you hit a certain number.

[Ross]

The vans are expensive the subsidy isn't much either it's really only cheap if you hit a certain number.

 

One of the folks at work pays $85 per month for his piece of a 16 person van pool. That's after a $35 subsidy. I don't know if the subsidy is from the company, or from a governmetn agency. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

 

[JamesL]

It does, but the point is, if people carpool to the park and ride, and use the bus, that's less cars in the parking lot, but with fare reduced, that's more money subsidized on riders. If Dave, Linda, and Martin park for free in the suburban areas and pay $4 to ride, METRO gets $12 between the three. If they carpool with fares only a buck twenty five, and pay the $3.25 to park and get onto the $1.25 fare, that's $7 for METRO. When people carpool now, METRO gets less money. Alternatively, Dave, Linda, and Martin could take the HOT lane, and all that money goes to HCTRA, which might as well happen since if METRO loses money on every rider they get, they're giving METRO a better deal in the long run.

 

You just described a few ideal scenarios. The point is to not spend millions expanding parking lots but still take cars off the road.

 

You may be underestimating how much parking spaces cost.

 

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[Slick Vik]

One of the folks at work pays $85 per month for his piece of a 16 person van pool. That's after a $35 subsidy. I don't know if the subsidy is from the company, or from a governmetn agency. Sounds pretty reasonable to me.

That's if there are really 16 people in the pool. A van costs about $1000 usually at the minimum, so unless you have a lot of riders it's not cheap because you have to fill gas once a week too and possibly tolls.

[Slick Vik]

You just described a few ideal scenarios. The point is to not spend millions expanding parking lots but still take cars off the road.

You may be underestimating how much parking spaces cost.

Starting on page 32. http://ridemetro.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=5&clip_id=785&meta_id=9750

"Free" parking is one of the ideas engrained into the head of most Americans particularly in the south unfortunately. It's anything but free and in fact the government subsidizes it more than transit for employees which makes no sense whatsoever.

[Ross]

That's if there are really 16 people in the pool. A van costs about $1000 usually at the minimum, so unless you have a lot of riders it's not cheap because you have to fill gas once a week too and possibly tolls.

 

There's a waiting list for that particular van pool. In any case, you would not have a van pool unless it made sense to the participants. Ther eare other folks at work in smaller van pools that pay about the same as thelarger ones, so on an individual basis it's a pretty good deal.

 

[Slick Vik]

There's a waiting list for that particular van pool. In any case, you would not have a van pool unless it made sense to the participants. Ther eare other folks at work in smaller van pools that pay about the same as thelarger ones, so on an individual basis it's a pretty good deal.

The way the vans work is they are actually priced higher for smaller vans it's almost like they want people to take bigger vans. Also they are priced based on miles driven per month. I know for a fact unless you have a full van it's not really a good deal at all.

[livincinco]

I know for a fact unless you have a full van it's not really a good deal at all.

If you can't fill a van then a carpool is a great alternative.

[Ross]

The way the vans work is they are actually priced higher for smaller vans it's almost like they want people to take bigger vans. Also they are priced based on miles driven per month. I know for a fact unless you have a full van it's not really a good deal at all.

 

What would you consider a good deal for a monthly charge? I just took a look at fares in the NYC area, and a monthly train pass from Peekskill to Grand Central Station is $343 for a distance that's comparable to the Woodlands to Downtown. Park and ride runs $150 or so per month. And, van pools work well if you office location is not Downtown, since it is pretty difficult to use Park and Ride outside of Downtown. What is your alternative to a van pool for those commuters who are not well served by other means of public transport?

 

[Slick Vik]

If you can't fill a van then a carpool is a great alternative.

Metro should lower its van prices

Carpools are good but not as reliable as vanpools due to human nature

Edited March 29, 2014 by Slick Vik

[Slick Vik]

What would you consider a good deal for a monthly charge? I just took a look at fares in the NYC area, and a monthly train pass from Peekskill to Grand Central Station is $343 for a distance that's comparable to the Woodlands to Downtown. Park and ride runs $150 or so per month. And, van pools work well if you office location is not Downtown, since it is pretty difficult to use Park and Ride outside of Downtown. What is your alternative to a van pool for those commuters who are not well served by other means of public transport?

$50

I would compare to the price of the MTA monthly pass.

And the alternative is build a better public transport system

[Ross]

$50

I would compare to the price of the MTA monthly pass.

And the alternative is build a better public transport system

 

Get real. There is no place in this country where you can ride public transport 30+ miles each way for $50 per month. In the UK, a monthly rail pass for that distance is close to $600.

[Slick Vik]

Get real. There is no place in this country where you can ride public transport 30+ miles each way for $50 per month. In the UK, a monthly rail pass for that distance is close to $600.

Actually, Dart sells an annual pass for $800.

Edited March 29, 2014 by Slick Vik

[IronTiger]

"Free" parking is one of the ideas engrained into the head of most Americans particularly in the south unfortunately. It's anything but free and in fact the government subsidizes it more than transit for employees which makes no sense whatsoever.

Ah, the old "government subsidizes parking" argument, which is a valid point (such as widening streets for allowing more parking, taking off taxable land) but requires some fuzzy guesswork to work properly, like a company saying they lost X dollars due to software piracy not taking into account that some people that pirated it wouldn't have bought it in the first place or the theory that piracy can actually drive some legitimate sales, or if wider roads could theoritically bring up land value, and dozens of other variables.

Actually, Dart sells an annual pass for $800.

That's still about 16 dollars a month extra than your proposed price.

Carpools are good but not as reliable as vanpools due to human nature

How do you figure?

[Slick Vik]

Ah, the old "government subsidizes parking" argument, which is a valid point (such as widening streets for allowing more parking, taking off taxable land) but requires some fuzzy guesswork to work properly, like a company saying they lost X dollars due to software piracy not taking into account that some people that pirated it wouldn't have bought it in the first place or the theory that piracy can actually drive some legitimate sales, or if wider roads could theoritically bring up land value, and dozens of other variables.

That's still about 16 dollars a month extra than your proposed price.

How do you figure?

1. I'm talking about tax free amounts you can take out of your checks at certain jobs. The amount you can take out for parking is higher than transit that makes no sense.

2. It's still a very good price point for unlimited rides.

3. Because people have things to do, appointments, vacations so that makes carpools less reliable than something you know will run daily.

[totheskies]

I was originally against charging at the Park and Rides, but I've now evolved on the issue.  Parking is expensive... that's just the reality of it.  I think a better way than just outright proclaiming WE NOW CHARGE YOU TO PARK would be to open up different levels of Park and Ride membership...  say a Premium member pays a little extra for parking included and more free rides, while a standard membership keeps the parking fee and transit fare separate.