According to LAist, you might have to pay for parking at various Metro station parking lots if you want to park your car at that location and take the train.
A Metro presentation posted on the Fans of L.A. Metro Rail Facebook page that the transit agency might soon begin experimenting with a more thorough paid parking system at some rail-station parking lots. Why might this happen? It’s not that complicated, it’s all about…money.
Metro faces a $36.8 million dollar deficit for the 2017 fiscal year, and what better way to close that deficient than to charge people for parking at some of the 25,000 spaces scattered throughout the agency’s rail network?
The outline for the parking scheme shows a two-tiered rate, charging one rate for transit users, and another for people who just want to park in the lot. Where transit users can expect to pay $2 – $3 for the privilege of parking in a Metro lot, non-transit users will be looking at paying anywhere from $15 – $25 for a space.
LAist gives an example, at the Universal City lot, a person who parks their car and takes the Red Line to work in downtown would pay $3 for the spot, while a tourist visiting Universal Studios for the day would shell out $25.
Overall, Metro expects the pilot program to generate about $600,000 for the agency, while providing some evaluation points as the agency looks to further monetize its parking lots. The $600,000 value would grow if the pilot program was expanded.
Those who already hold monthly passes at some of the more crowded stations, notably North Hollywood and Universal City, will continue to enjoy preferential privilege.
$2 isn’t bad, but can you imagine paying $25 if you’re using that parking lot just to go to work or an amusement park? Seems a bit much, no?
