[TOareaFan]

I think they should charge everyone for parking (not a lot, even $2-3 a day or $25-30 a month) and de-couple the cost of building and maintaining and enforcing parking lots from the GO fare so that carpoolers, pedestrians, transit users, are rewarded and don't have the cost of parking integrated into their fare. The TTC doesn't have all passengers subsidize the parking spaces.

In addition, there could be continued reserved spaces.

Intellectually, you are right.....I think the public reaction, however, would be "you wanna charge me for parking? Do two things, reduce my fare by an equivalent amount and guarantee me there will be a spot there!"

I think they way they are increasing their parking revenues (with the reserved spots) is a bit more publically saleable....does not directly affect everyone...but does raise some cash.

I would suggest the next step would be to introduce "tiers" of spots for monthly reserving. Right now, my $50 gets me two things:

1. A guarantee that there will be a spot there when I arrive, no matter what time and for what train
2. A very well located spot near the station/tracks

Perhaps in the future there will be a charge for the first item but that spot might not be amongst the best spots in the station but if I paid a bit more then it would improve the location of my spot (trust me, in this bitter cold winter it has been nice to be able to sit in the warmth of my car with a coffee right up until the doors open on the train and still make it on!).

 

[nfitz]

Intellectually, you are right.....I think the public reaction, however, would be "you wanna charge me for parking? Do two things, reduce my fare by an equivalent amount ...

Surely anything like this would have to be revenue neutral. A fare decrease to compensate from the increased parking revenue seems fair enough - but to be revenue neutral, given that many passengers don't need parking - the amount of decrease in fares would be less than the increase in parking.

 

[TOareaFan]

Surely anything like this would have to be revenue neutral. A fare decrease to compensate from the increased parking revenue seems fair enough - but to be revenue neutral, given that many passengers don't need parking - the amount of decrease in fares would be less than the increase in parking.

Which will be portrayed as "a rip off" (not saying it is just trying to anticipate the reaction) because "parking used to be free now it is charged". Increasing the awareness of the reserved parking program is an easier way to increase revenue because it is charging for something additional as opposed to seeming to charge for something that used to be free.

p.s. I am not sure (nor do I agree) that this has to be revenue neutral. the system is starved for cash.......finding sources of revenue should be part of the mandate.

 

[kEiThZ]

I think they should charge everyone for parking (not a lot, even $2-3 a day or $25-30 a month) and de-couple the cost of building and maintaining and enforcing parking lots from the GO fare so that carpoolers, pedestrians, transit users, are rewarded and don't have the cost of parking integrated into their fare. The TTC doesn't have all passengers subsidize the parking spaces.

In addition, there could be continued reserved spaces.

+1

My idea would be to bump that up to 5 bucks a day and fund parking structures. Free up land for development that could also help fund that parking structure.

If you start charging 5 bucks a day, a 50 dollar parking pass with a guaranteed spot is going to seem like an amazing bargain.

 

[TOareaFan]

+1

My idea would be to bump that up to 5 bucks a day and fund parking structures. Free up land for development that could also help fund that parking structure.

If you start charging 5 bucks a day, a 50 dollar parking pass with a guaranteed spot is going to seem like an amazing bargain.

Who would pay $5 a day for an unreserved spot (using 23 work days a month that works out to $115/mth) when you can reserve a spot for $50

 

[kEiThZ]

Who would pay $5 a day for an unreserved spot (using 23 work days a month that works out to $115/mth) when you can reserve a spot for $50

Exactly....it would encourage more riders to reserve providing a steady stream of income to GO. And we could go one step further and offer reservation block time (ie reserved from 0800-1800) etc. Anyway, the daily price could be tinkered with. If you build parking structures and sell off spare land, the parking price could be defrayed by the income from the sale.

It's just an idea. There's a lot of innovative options here.

 

[TOareaFan]

Exactly....it would encourage more riders to reserve providing a steady stream of income to GO.

I get what you are saying but my premise is that increased service brings more people in more cars to the lots and, as a result, more frustration over not finding a parking spot....that alone will force/encourage more people to investigate and sign up for the reserved spot.....I don't think you have to slap a fee on all spots to do that.....your method would work....but I just wonder about how necessary it is.

And we could go one step further and offer reservation block time (ie reserved from 0800-1800) etc.

I think we are many, many, many (repeat as necessary ) decades away for there being a market for any time slot other than that!!

 

[nfitz]

Which will be portrayed as "a rip off" (not saying it is just trying to anticipate the reaction) because "parking used to be free now it is charged".

TTC recently announced it would be converting from free (if you had a Metropass) to having to pay extra for parking - with very little outcry I've heard. If handled properly, then it wouldn't appear much more than a fare increase.

 

[DavidH]

Who would pay $5 a day for an unreserved spot (using 23 work days a month that works out to $115/mth) when you can reserve a spot for $50

I think that was his point, although I suspect that GO would go to a two-tiered structure where unreserved spots go for one price and reserved spots go for a higher price. Most of us early risers don't need to pay for a space since they are plentiful when we arrive.

 

[TOareaFan]

I think that was his point, although I suspect that GO would go to a two-tiered structure where unreserved spots go for one price and reserved spots go for a higher price. Most of us early risers don't need to pay for a space since they are plentiful when we arrive.

Right.....and I think that should continue. I happen to work late so, when I take the train, it is usually a later train in the morning that I take.....I like convenience and I recognize there is a cost to that convenience so I pay for a reserved spot.....90% of the time I do not use it but I like that it is there when I want to use it.

My point is, simply, that as more lines/stations have more later/all day service more people will be attracted to the stations at later times and will be attracted to the convenience of a reserved spot.

The only flaw I see in how GO is selling these spots now is that they should set the price per month (as they do now) and offer people the option of a discount to that price if they pay for a year in advance....that way GO can have locked in/predictable earnings from parking....as it is now, I can cancell my spot tomorrow and they would lose my revenue until someone else comes along. No biggy but I would be doing something along those lines (actually I would raise the price to $60 a month but, in my notice to current subscribers, I would give them the option of locking in at $50 by pre-paying for a year.....so the "discount" would be in the form of "increase avoidance")

 

[DavidH]

My point is, simply, that as more lines/stations have more later/all day service more people will be attracted to the stations at later times and will be attracted to the convenience of a reserved spot.

Agreed, although GO will need to ensure that increasing the number of reserved spaces does not compromise overall accessibility of parking. If it's done as part of a general parking increase (e.g. the building of a structure), that would be fine.

The only flaw I see in how GO is selling these spots now is that they should set the price per month (as they do now) and offer people the option of a discount to that price if they pay for a year in advance

I guess this depends on what their turnaround time is when a reserved space is vacated.

 

[Woodbridge_Heights]

TTC recently announced it would be converting from free (if you had a Metropass) to having to pay extra for parking - with very little outcry I've heard. If handled properly, then it wouldn't appear much more than a fare increase.

I think you've missed something. There was backlash (albeit not huge) when the TTC announced that it would be eliminating free metropass parking, particularly among the Sun media crowd. I think the announcement was so long ago that people have simple dealt with it and forgotten about it.

 

[nfitz]

I think the announcement was so long ago that people have simple dealt with it and forgotten about it.

And that's what happens. It will be interesting to see how it effects ridership - though I guess it will be well into 2010 before any figures show up to indicate this at individual stations.

 

[kEiThZ]

I do wish that GO does take up the idea of parking structures. The amount of prime land at GO stations wasted for parking is disgusting. I travel from Guildwood occassionally and I am always stunned at the waste of space at that lot. Likewise at Agincourt. Moreover, land near GO stations is paricularly valuable. I am willing to bet that the mere sale of some of the land to developers could yield a good proportion of the construction costs of any parking structure built on the rest of the land. They can charge whatever they deem fit to recover the costs of construction and to generate revenue in the process.

This is probably inevitable anyway. As ridership increases, more parking will be needed. Why don't they get a move on now?

ps. I am equally unimpressed at the vast lots at TTC stations like Warden or Kennedy, or the lack of space at stations like York Mills.

 

[lordmandeep]

well the Finch station has a gigantic lot but its all under hydro wires ^^^

However, rumour there is a car stolen everyday from that lot.

However, I would not mind if someone steals my car, I think I could get a pretty penny for it. However if you have an American made car, then your in trouble....

Kipling station wastes a lot of space however there is tons of space to build buildings in and around the station.


Anyways the TTC is useless. It gets all that money from parking and then will not install Camera's.