City
End of the Line for Free Parking
The free ride is over. Last night, the TTC voted to end complimentary parking for Metropass users, at the TTC's 16 commuter lots across the city.
Problems with the existing parking arrangement do exist. The popularity of the Metropass over tickets and tokens has led riders to take advantage of the free parking incentive. Surprisingly, Metropass holders occupy a whopping 80% of the available 14,000 spaces meant for commuters - yet these riders only account for one percent of all TTC's annual ridership. Commuter parking lots simply don't have enough space to accommodate the sheer number of people who choose to park their car and hop on the Red Rocket.
"We want people out of their cars and using public transit," noted TTC Chair Adam Giambrone. But will charging commuters for parking help achieve this goal? With the change, the TTC believes that although some commuters will be behind the wheel, twice as many people will benefit from the revenue generated, which will increase investment in buses across the city by $3-million per year.
Currently there are two options for monetizing parking that are up for debate. The first option is the Metropass-Plus, which would give riders access to parking at an additional cost. The second option is a cash-only system where parking your car would cost $2 - $6 per day (a bargain in comparison to parking in the downtown core).
I'll be looking forward to seeing the extra money put towards transit improvements. We need better feeder routes, better bus service around commuter hub stations, increased subway service in heavy commuter areas, and more frequent bus service.
With car-owners losing the battle at the pumps, the goal for the TTC should be to provide alternatives for commuters that negate the need for cars.
How do you feel about these changes and will this affect your morning commute to work?
Photo by News46.
Discussion
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my question would be, for the metropass-plus, would people be guaranteed parking spaces at the lots? i mean, imagine if you pay the extra money and end up not getting a parking space. (sorry if this is a stupid question. i don't take the TTC much, but i've had times when the TTC parking lots are full and i end up driving to my destination. and btw, i carpool to work with two other people and contribute to the cost of gas and parking. it really aggravates me to see how many people drive alone on the DVP.)
If they came from Toronto, then they can use the bus to get to the subway. And save on gasoline at the same time.
If they came from the 905, they are not using a 905 bus to get to the subway. So they end up paying the equivalent of the 905 bus fare, and the price of gasoline to get there. If the price for parking is higher than the bus fare, they should consider using the bus.
taking the Go would be another option. but if you need to commute again from Union Station, then the costs rack up again. if TTC is cancelling free parking for pass holders, do you think GO will follow the trend to bring in more dough?
The idea seems to be hinged on the assumption that everyone who drives to a lot lives within either a 10 min walk or bus ride away from the lot. Did the TTC even do anything to find out specifics about who is parking at their lots?
As I posted a couple days back, for anyone under 40-45k per year - especially on a single income - this is a huge blow.
Also, if "It's not appropriate for the average TTC rider to be subsidizing between 10 and 15 cents out of their fare for parking lots." then does that mean that everyone else will see a 10-15 cent fare reduction? I doubt it, which means its just another way to shaft riders.
The TTC says there are 10,000 parking spots in TTC lots. If they now charge $6 a day per spot, that's $60,000 each workday, or $300,000 a week, or $15,600,000 a year (or more, if any spots get used more than once a day.)
I smell a cash grab, the latest in a long line that motorists get to foot the bill for. Problem is, the motorists who will be hurt by this are the ones who were choosing to take the TTC and not burn gas. The wasteful drivers will be unaffected (and may see this move as justification for their wastefullness).
Diane: Not every spot gets them $6. Most are less than that.
I happen to think this is a great idea. I work downtown. If I drive to work then I have to pay $20 a day to park, which, for the math nerds out there, is way more than the cost of a single fare plus the cost of parking.
This is really about sound economics. People will continue to use the lots but the demand will just go down slightly so instead of having thousands of people pissed that they can't get a spot, there might just be a couple hundred drivers who get snubbed on a given day (even $6 is too low for an all-day rate in this city so there will be excess demand).
And because I do hold a Metropass, in my own slefish interest, I have to agree with Giambrone's assessment that there's no reason for me to subsidize some guy who wants the convenience of driving to a TTC station while I'm outside freezing my ass off while I wait for a bus. And given the increasing cost of gas (and everything else), if that money gets rolled into TTC coffers or lessens the next fare increase then I'm on board with that.
You know what? A lot of people pay taxes, and they might not use the TTC. They might be tired of subsidizing the cost of public transportation. Why are they paying for you to use a system they don't? Hey a lot of people pay for schools when they don't have kids - why are they paying for someone else education. Some people don't own a car, or a bike - yet they pay taxes to maintain roads they don't use. I'm a healthy person, why am I paying for someone else's chemo!?
Being a part of society has costs and benefits, not everyone gets to benefit without paying a little extra cost from time to time. We want to encourage people to use public transit, so sometimes we need to offer an incentive to make it easier.
And you know what? A metro-pass costs a lot of money. You have to use it a lot moer than a simple back and forth 5 days a week to make it worth it. So those people who used it just for that purpose they were subsidizing your usuage of the TTC when they did not really need buy a metropass.
I suspect, that - if possible. The people who used the parking lots and metropass on their way to work, will simply buy a parking pass and use tokens instead.
On the other hand, transit riders in Toronto pay 70% of the TTC's operating costs, benefit the economy because we aren't out clogging up the roads with low occupancy vehicles, limit the impact of transportation on the environment and health, and require only a fraction of the policing drivers do.
Point being: If drivers want to drive they shouldn't expect people who are making sacrifices for the public good to subsidize them.
Yes, I realize how stupid this argument is. Do you realize how stupid yours is?
Back to the point -- we all agree that less car use and greater transit use is an admirable goal. The issue is how much that goal has been hurt by the TTC's decision to make motorists' access to the TTC more expensive.
You also don't actually respond to any I posted anyways - the fact is, that 905ers who use the metropass free parking are actually paying for parking already. They could easily EASILY have decided to use tokens for their daily commute, but instead they bought a more expensive metropass to have access to a parking lot.
Since they probably use their metropass for two trips a day, 5 days a week - they could spend $90 in tokens. But to have access to the parking lot, they instead spend around $20 more for free parking - not guaranteed parking mind you. The people parking their cars have been paying their fair share regularly.
The TTC was offering a service - and the drivers were paying for it really. Sure, it's not used by everyone, but then again, the TTC offers plenty of services that aren't used by everyone and yet, a part of everyone's fares cover them. Take Wheeltrans - a door-to-door taxi service. A VERY small number of people use it. It's actually really expensive to run, yet the people needing that service aren't charged more. Buses on less popular routes might not even collect enough fares to pay for their existance, but we subsidize those less popular routes. Not everything can easily pay for itself, its a fact of life. In order to get more ridership we need to make it easier for people to use the system.
On the positive side, hopefully, this will drive up condo value in downtown and cost of parking spots downtown.. yay
Wait.
Uh oh.
I will continue driving from the 905 to my downtown job, as I have been for the last year and a half, because the TTC provides the WORST service for an absolutely rediculous cost. I'd rather pay for gas and parking, which is actually even more cost effective for me right now. It costs $40 to fill my car (and that lasts about 7 days) and $10/day to park.