When do they finally Axe Park N Ride?

[firebug]

The best solution would be to have ~75% of each lot free parking and the rest $3/day.

The infrastructure is in place, and there are people comfortable with paying to ensure they can have a spot.

Kills two birds with one stone.

[iggnuef]

It's ridiculous that you can just walk on the train without paying! Its the biggest joke, but it fits in with their service which is a joke aswell!!

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I used to drive to the station, park for free and then hop on the train without paying. The trains were so packed during rush hour, I would never get checked. I'd pay the occasional time when I had to come into work early or stay late.

Since they implemented the $3 parking fee, the C train is nowhere near as busy so I couldn't ride it for free anymore. I now buy a buss pass every month ands take the express bus.

So the parking fee worked on me. I went from paying under $50 a year to over $1000.

opposite for me, i'd buy the ticket books but with free parking it wasn't that bad. now that there's an extra $3, it made me look for parking alternatives downtown. now i never take the train anymore, and i don't pay that much more per month than if i were still using transit

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I used to drive to the station, park for free and then hop on the train without paying. The trains were so packed during rush hour, I would never get checked. I'd pay the occasional time when I had to come into work early or stay late.

Since they implemented the $3 parking fee, the C train is nowhere near as busy so I couldn't ride it for free anymore. I now buy a buss pass every month ands take the express bus.

So the parking fee worked on me. I went from paying under $50 a year to over $1000.

So the C-trains are being utilized less. The exact opposite of what Nenshi wants. I would also assume that the people who aren't using the c-train still have places to go, so the roads are busier than they were before.

They need to be fighting the people who don't pay for the train service, not charging people who park their cars and use the eco-friendly alternative.

[Temporary_User]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

opposite for me, i'd buy the ticket books but with free parking it wasn't that bad. now that there's an extra $3, it made me look for parking alternatives downtown. now i never take the train anymore, and i don't pay that much more per month than if i were still using transit

You don't pay much more for parking vs. transit?
Or have you factored in the extra gas and car maintenance into it as well?

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Temporary_User

You don't pay much more for parking vs. transit?
Or have you factored in the extra gas and car maintenance into it as well?

i pay more no doubt, but now the cost savings isn't enough for me to forgo the convenience of driving to work and avoiding the mass of humanity on the trains. it takes me 25 minutes to drive downtown from Chestermere, instead of the 45 it took doing park & ride. my time is valuable too, so that 40 minutes a day can add up quite a bit

[Super-Rye]

Originally Posted by Pinner

Imagine the missed revenue, 30 yr's worth.

I'd rather not -.-

[LGA]

Keep the charge if you have to, just start selling a monthly version of it or something. It's annoying having to do the whole thing every morning, wish I just had a little tag or something I could hang off my rearview mirror.

[Rathji]

Originally Posted by TylerSVT

Wasent one of Nenshi's big things to get rid of the rediculous Park N Ride fees? When can i start to park for free?

Seriously, people like you are the reason we need park and ride fees.

[bradster57]

I think the point is that paying to use the train should include parking too. Or maybe another solution is to enforce paid tickets a bit better. I've been using the train for 2 years and only been asked for a ticket once (I was working late and the train was empty.)

[3 Justin 3]

Is the honor system really that bad in Calgary? I know when I was in Berlin for the first 2 days I didn't pay at all for the metro, then I decided to stop being a dick and pay. Every trip I took after that I got checked (which was a lot) so I guess I got lucky but they had a lot of guys checking, constantly.

[Tyler]

Kind of a toss up for me. I like the fact that I can always get a spot at Anderson, but factor in $60/month for park and ride, and another $85 for a monthly bus pass.. and you're bordering on $145 a month to take public transit.

I think that's getting to a point where transit isn't looking like an economically viable solution.

[Flames Draft Watcher]

I park near Franklin and the people who don't want to pay for parking just end up spilling over into the community a few blocks away. They've added some new no-parking signs onto the closest road but you can still find free parking within a block or two.

The idea of having to pay to park to take transit is non-sensical to me. They should be encouraging transit use to keep the city viable as it grows since driving into downtown is such a pain at rush hour due to the limited number of entries/exits.

[McG]

gee...i don't know...how about a pass that guarantees people a spot in a special section? those that want to pay guarantee themselves a spot and those that don't want to pay take their chances with everyone else?

come on up to st. albert where "representatives" and "transit officials" can't figure out that they have a massive empty parking lot at servus place during the day and yet they refuse to do a park and ride from there. instead, they prefer to limit spaces and force people to drive or get tickets.

[Northendzone]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

I used to drive to the station, park for free and then hop on the train without paying. The trains were so packed during rush hour, I would never get checked. I'd pay the occasional time when I had to come into work early or stay late.

Since they implemented the $3 parking fee, the C train is nowhere near as busy so I couldn't ride it for free anymore. I now buy a buss pass every month ands take the express bus.

So the parking fee worked on me. I went from paying under $50 a year to over $1000.

it should be noted that the federal governmnet offers you tax credit/deduction with repsect to transit passes - i am unclear if that credit/deduction extendeds to parking lot fees. i suppose you could try and claim it and see what happens.

[kevman]

Originally Posted by bradster57

I think the point is that paying to use the train should include parking too.

Is it? Should it? Maybe it's just me but in my opinion you should be paying for the service you use (to an extent, it is "public" after all). Parking and riding from Crowfoot to downtown should cost more then just riding from Crowfoot which should cost more then riding from Sunnyside.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by 3 Justin 3

Is the honor system really that bad in Calgary? I know when I was in Berlin for the first 2 days I didn't pay at all for the metro, then I decided to stop being a dick and pay. Every trip I took after that I got checked (which was a lot) so I guess I got lucky but they had a lot of guys checking, constantly.

I think it's ridiculous, and frankly irresponsible, that the city is still using the honor system. The lost revenue must be staggering when you think about it going back 30 years. Who knows how many new trains, buses, or miles of track they've thrown out the window because of it.

Time to step in to the 20th century and institute a proper metro card system (no stupid coins or tokens please) where you pay to play, and can do it conveniently. I think this is much more important then any park and ride fee.

[GGG]

I think the transit Ridership drop had more to do with the recession than the park and ride fee. Park n ride users only accounted for 15% of transit use anyway.

I think they should leave Park and Ride in place but charge based on demand. If the lot fills up by 9:00 than the park n ride fee stays. If the lot doesn't fill up lower the fee until it does. If that means eliminating it at certain lots than do it. Parking is a commodity and should be treated that way throughout the city. Someone going to work late should have the same right to parking as someone going in early.

[SebC]

Originally Posted by Table 5

I think it's ridiculous, and frankly irresponsible, that the city is still using the honor system. The lost revenue must be staggering when you think about it going back 30 years. Who knows how many new trains, buses, or miles of track they've thrown out the window because of it.

Dunno how closely the situation in Calgary mirrors that in Vancouver, but Translink in Vancouver believes that turnstiles would cost more than fare evasion, and a study showed that perceived fare evasion is much higher than actual fare evasion.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-col...-dropping.html

[TylerSVT]

Originally Posted by Ducay

Its times like this when I'm glad you don't live within the city limits. Even after they get rid of the $3 fees, I hope they implement some sort of extra charge for people from Okotoks, Airdrie, Cochrane, De Winton, to use our C-train.

I used to live in the city limits for 21 years... so kiss my ass, it wasnt my choice for my parents to move out to the country where i need to drive 20 minutes to get to the most southwestern train station. As soon as im done school im moving back in.

Originally Posted by shermanator

De Winton eh?

You don't live in this city, and don't pay taxes in this city, therefore your opinion doesn't matter! Just be glad there's no tolls on the roads to drive into the city and shut up!

Your right... i dont pay taxes... not yet, but even if i lived in the city STILL i would think it is a stupid idea, charging people 8+ dollars a day to get to work is idiotic and adds up very very fast, its even worse if your a university student or low income users. It promotes people to drive more, park illegally more, and use transit less.... a loss for everyone.

Originally Posted by Rathji

Seriously, people like you are the reason we need park and ride fees.

Thanks for that wit and intelligence...


Honestly im all for increasing transit safety and but the city just wants money. Why can they spend 20 million or whatever for that stupid pedestrian bridge but not bother putting proper heaters in the train.. or making it so that some Hobo dosent smokes dope on the train beside me...

Charging people to park isnt the anwser. Right now i just park at southcenter for free and walk to Anderson station, if i didnt i would have paid almost $1000 to the city.. USELESS!