Paying for no parking
When WMATA changed its parking system to require payment with the SmarTrip smart card, it also began to require payment upon exit, from 9:00am until closing. (Previously payment was required only upon exit from 2:00pm to 10:00pm. Outside of those hours the gates were left raised.)
With this change I wondered what would happen at the majority of lots that fill before 9:00am. What about the commuter who arrives after 9:00am to find a full parking lot? Metro claimed that attendants would monitor the lots and close them when they filled up. The truth seems a bit different: people will pull into the lot at 9:30, find it full, and try to exit, finding a gate blocking the exit. One can a) pay the 3.75 or more for the privilege of driving around a full lot, b) drive around the gate, or c) break the gate.
I knew this would happen...in other news, Metro now has a Google map of the system.
Post Author:
massysett | 9:23 AM |
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Just wanted to comment. To remind you that you still have readers...at least me...who come everyday.
The lack of parking is something I have trouble understanding. There simply is not enough parking for commuters. While parking lots and garage are not an idealand form, they play a key role in determining the likelihood of someone utilizing the metro for their daily commute. Granted some people could take a bus or walk for that matter to get the metro station, however that is not going to happen. People do not have the time to do either of those in most cases or the location to make that possible. I have even seen some call for less metro parking...saying that the parking encourages driving.
I would take the metro myself if there was a chance I could get a parking space at 8:45am on a Monday and not have to pay $45 a month plus $3.75 a day on top of metro fare. It's cheaper for me to drive and pay for parking in DC....and for that money I have a definite parking space.
On the Metro google map, the blue and orange lines do not stop at Metro Center. Oops!
