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56 C h a p t e r 6 Purpose of This Chapter Once a park-and-ride facility is built, the facility requires ongoing management, operations, and maintenance. Transit agencies approach park-and-ride operations in a variety of waysâ from fully in-house to fully outsourced operations (and all approaches in between). No matter what the approach, the most beautiful or well-designed park-and-ride will not succeed without being managed well. This chapter discusses: ⢠How to determine park-and-ride operations needs. ⢠How to determine the operations approach: in-house versus contracting. ⢠How to manage demand for parking. ⢠How to measure performance. Operating Park-and-Ride P h ot og ra ph c ou rt es y of M et ro po lit an T ra n si t A u th or it y of H ar ri s C ou n ty .
Operating park-and-ride 57 Park-and-Ride Operation Needs This section serves as an extensive (not exhaustive) inventory of ongoing operational requirements for park-and-ride facilities and provides the guidebook user with an opportunity to gain awareness of the operating activities and expenses to keep a park-and-ride operating smoothly. Management and Oversight Park-and-ride facilities are a touch point between transit agencies and customers. Therefore, transit agencies should work to manage park- ing just like every other service and amenity the transit agency provides to ensure that its parking program meets customersâ expectations. Employees Whether a transit agency fully outsources its park-and-ride program or operates the pro- gram in-house, a transit agency employee (or group of employees) must take responsibility for the ongoing management and oversight of the park-and-ride program. In the case of a fully contracted parking program, a minimum of one person is needed to oversee and manage the parking contract(s). (For a small parking program, it may be pos- sible for a person to devote only part of his or her time to contract management.) Contract oversight itself can be an involved process, and staff requirements will vary as a function of the number and complexity of the parking contracts. The tasks of a contract manager may include: ⢠Coordinating inspections of park-and-ride facilities. ⢠Reviewing and approving invoices and other financial documents. ⢠Working with park-and-ride contractors to address issues. ⢠Resolving contract disputes. ⢠Pursuing liquidated damages (if applicable). ⢠Monitoring parking facility utilization and planning for future growth or expansions. Departments If some component of a transit agencyâs park-and-ride program is managed in-house, more people may be needed for ongoing management and oversight. Parking management and oversight tasks can be distributed in different ways: ⢠Responsibility may be centralized into a single department or position (e.g., a capital pro- gramming, real estate, or strategic planning department). ⢠Responsibility may be distributed among several departments (e.g., planning, facility mainte- nance, operations, and real estate). In either case, transit agencies should clearly delineate exactly what department is responsible for management of the park-and-ride program. Insurance Operating a park-and-ride facility has implications for the transit agencyâs insurance liabil- ity. Transit agencies may insure park-and-ride facilities against damage from natural disasters, vehicular accidents, or negligence lawsuits. Transit agencies usually decide how to insure the facility during the planning phase. However, arranging for insurance for the facility is a part of the ongoing management of the park-and-ride. Park-and-ride facilities are a touch point between transit agencies and customers. Therefore, transit agencies should ensure that the parking program meets customersâ expectations.
58 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities The cost of insurance should be incorporated into the operating costs of a park-and-ride. This cost may be either the direct cost of purchased insurance for the facility or the distributed or implicit cost in the case of a transit agency that is self-insured (APTA 2015). In addition, any insurance claims related to the facility should be carefully tracked and managed. Legal Issues and Regulations Transit agencies should be specific and intentional about permitted uses of park-and-ride facilities (e.g., long-term parking or usage by non-transit customers). Effective management of parking rules involves several items, including: ⢠Setting rules (adoption by the transit agency and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal regulations). ⢠Displaying rules (website and on-site signage). ⢠Enforcing rules (on-site inspections, fines, etc.). ⢠Modifying rules as needed. Setting Rules Although a transit agency may adopt a system-wide parking policy, a transit agency may set specific rules for individual facilities to either promote or prohibit certain types of parking and uses (e.g., allowing long-term parking to support service to an airport). Displaying Rules Displaying rules is a crucial component of park-and-ride management. If rules are not clearly displayed and communicated, a transit agency may find it difficult to enforce rules. A robust combination of media should be used to communicate rules to customers. These could include: ⢠Signage at the parking facility, including at the entrance(s) and spaced throughout the parking facility in highly visible locations. (See Figure 6 and Figure 7 for examples of parking regula- tion signs.) ⢠Printing on parking receipts or payment tickets. ⢠A transit agency brochure about parking. ⢠A transit agency website about parking. In the San Francisco Bay area, BART provides an excellent example of rule displays. BARTâs parking website clearly lists the rules and regulations concerning parking. BART also provides a summary of the rules on each individual station website and provides a link back to the overall parking rules page. Enforcing Rules A transit agencyâs police force, local police, or other transit agency staff may handle enforce- ment of rules. Modifying Rules as Needed The same person (or team of people) responsible for oversight of the park-and-ride pro- gram should manage the park-and-ride rules. As situations change, transit agencies may need to update rules and regulations.
Operating park-and-ride 59 Figure 6. Example of park-and-ride rule signage at Northgate in Seattle. Photograph courtesy of Kathryn Coffel. Facility Use for Special Events A park-and-ride facility that is not used for public transit on weekends or that may have low utilization on some days can be a potential candidate as parking for a special event. One pos- sible use of a facility is to allow non-transit parking to occur in conjunction with the eventâfor example, a run for charity that starts and ends in the same general area as the park-and-ride facility. Another possible use is to block off a portion of the parking area for non-parking use on a recurring or one-time basisâfor example, to provide space for a farmersâ market or com- munity event. Either type of use can increase public awareness of the facilityâs existence and give the transit agency a new way to interact with the community. One important consideration when considering allowing special event usage of a lot is ensuring that a sufficient number of parking spaces remain available for transit customers. Conducting parking utiliza- tion counts, as described later in this chapter, can help a transit agency understand how much parking is typically used at the time the event is proposed to occur. Other considerations include the range of uses allowed or not allowed under the transit agencyâs insurance and legal or policy issues concerning commercial use of transit agency property. UTA leases some of its park-and-ride lots for special events such as marathons or bicycle rides that are sponsored by local cities and counties. Because of insurance issues, UTA rarely leases its lots to private companies for special events and, for policy reasons, does not allow private companies to charge for parking in the leased spaces. Most events occur for a few hours on Saturday and are usually complete by noon or 2 p.m. at the latest; UTA generally avoids allowing weekday events that would interfere with weekday commuters. UTA also informs event One consideration of special event usage of a lot is ensuring that a suffi- cient number of parking spaces remain available for transit customers.
60 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Figure 7. Posting of park-and-ride rules, Seattle, Washington. Source: King County Metro. Photograph courtesy of Kathryn Coffel.
Operating park-and-ride 61 sponsors not to expect to be able to use a UTA facility on a given day just because it has been allowed to in the past. UTA may need to accommodate higher-than-normal transit parking at the facility on the same date as the event (for example, due to another event occurring elsewhere in the region). UTAâs short-term lease application asks event sponsors to explain how their event will not interfere with UTA use and how their use will promote or encourage the use of public transit. Utilities and Routine Maintenance Common Needs Park-and-rides, like any other facility, need ongoing maintenance and the provision of and payment for applicable utilities. Although the specific needs and maintenance schedules vary across facilities, most facilities need many of the following tasks. Electricity and Lighting. Most park-and-ride facilities require some form of lighting in the parking area and at transit boarding areas. Electricity may also power security cameras, ticket vending machines, parking fee collection equipment, and so forth. Expenses incurred from lighting are: ⢠Electricity costs. ⢠Light bulbs. ⢠Lighting fixtures. ⢠The labor cost of inspecting, maintaining, and replacing lighting components. Transit agencies have many options available when choosing lighting elements for park-and- ride facilities. Some transit agencies, including Denver RTD, Port Authority of Allegheny County, and UTA, reported using LED lights to reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs. In addition, transit agencies may wish to explore additional practices to reduce energy consumption. For example, UTA is exploring turning off some (but not all) lights at its facilities after service has ended for the day. Solar power is also an option for transit agencies to reduce electricity costs. The use of solar power at park-and-ride facilities is still limited; however, several transit agencies expressed inter- est in expanding use of solar power or reported being currently engaged in pilot projects. Cleaning, Sweeping, and Litter Removal. Park-and-ride facili- ties need regular cleaning and sweeping to ensure that the customer has an excellent experience and to prevent the buildup of trash, debris, stains, road salt, and other types of grime. The frequency of various cleaning tasks depends on the intensity of facility usage and local environmental factors. However, transit agencies should sweep and remove litter on a frequent basisâin some cases, this may be a daily, ongoing activity. In addition to basic sweeping and cleaning, transit agencies may need to create a regular schedule for deep cleaning tasks, which may include power-washing of platforms, shelters, and other infrastructure. Trash Removal. Not all transit agencies have trash receptacles at park-and-ride facilities. Whether to provide receptacles is a strategic decision for the transit agency. However, most transit agencies report trash receptacles as a typical amenity at park-and-ride facilities. As discussed in Chapter 5, safety and security should also be considered when deciding whether to provide trash receptacles, where to place them, and how to design and construct them. Park-and-ride facilities need regular cleaning, sweeping, and litter removal to ensure the customer has an excellent experience.
62 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Trash receptacles must be emptied on a regular basis and with enough frequency to avoid trash overflowing. Transit agencies have many options for how to manage trash receptacles: ⢠The local jurisdiction may empty and maintain trash receptacles. ⢠The transit agency may manage the receptacles in-house. ⢠The transit agency may contract this function outâeither as part of an overall parking man- agement contract or to a company that specifically provides trash removal services. Trash receptacles are available that include a self-compacting feature to hold more trash and an automated electronic signal to indicate the receptacleâs location and when it is full and should be emptied. Facility Upkeep. Beyond the tasks of lighting, cleaning, and removing trash, park-and-rides also require facility upkeep and routine maintenance. These tasks include but are not limited to: ⢠Repainting and weatherproofing facility structures (e.g., benches, shelters, signs, pavement markings, sidewalks, and curbs). ⢠Restriping the parking lot area. ⢠Maintaining any structures. ⢠Maintaining pavement (including filling cracks, holes, etc.). ⢠Maintaining landscaping. Because facility upkeep requires resources, transit agencies should seek ways to keep mainte- nance costs as low as possible without sacrificing safety or customer satisfaction. Reduction in maintenance costs is best done by being strategic during the design and planning stages of a park- and-ride. For example, NJ TRANSIT uses low-maintenance, native planting as much as possible. Snow and Ice Removal. Transit agencies that operate in climates with snow and ice also need to have a mechanism to ensure the timely removal (and storage) of snow and ice from parking lots, pedestrian walkways, customer waiting areas, and so forth. Specialized Needs Transit agencies also sometimes offer specialized amenities, depending on a park-and-ride facilityâs usage and environmental context. For example, in areas with consistently cold or hot weather, a transit agency may provide climate-controlled customer waiting areas. This section discusses the routine O&M costs and tasks for park-and-ride facility features that are found less frequently. Customer Waiting Areas. If a transit agency provides climate-controlled waiting areas, these structures and components will produce additional ongoing O&M requirements. Utili- ties (including electricity, natural gas, or another energy source) may be needed for heating and cooling the facility. In addition, these waiting areas require regular cleaning, replacement of components (e.g., doors and windows), painting and other weatherproofing, and so forth. In addition to routine operations and maintenance, transit agencies should include safety and security of waiting areas as an additional facet of the overall park-and-ride. Policies and procedures may be needed to ensure that waiting areas are only accessible during service hours and are only used by transit customers. Employee Break Room. A transit agency may also provide a break room for bus and train operators or other staff. These can be especially useful when there are not many facilities for operators to use for breaks or when traveling to the bus or rail yard takes too much time. Break rooms require utilities, cleaning, replacement of components, painting and weatherproofing, and removal of trash. In addition, employees may appreciate simple amenities like microwaves
Operating park-and-ride 63 or vending machines. These amenities add to the required maintenance of the break room but also improve employee working conditions. Restrooms. Although restrooms are a desirable facility from the customer viewpoint, rest- rooms bring a set of O&M challenges. If transit agencies decide to provide permanent restrooms (i.e., not portable restrooms), these facilities will require running water, climate control, light- ing, supplies, and frequent cleaning and maintenance. Restrooms may be public or accessible only to transit agency employees. Fee Collection If a park-and-ride has parking fees, the equipment used to collect these fees (whether a kiosk for an on-site staff person or a completely automated system) also has ongoing O&M requirements. First, the infrastructure used to collect fees may require: ⢠Electricity. ⢠Network connectivity. ⢠Regular updates and maintenance of software (including licensing fees) and hardware. ⢠Maintenance of moving parts (e.g., gate arms). ⢠Lighting and climate control for customer service agent kiosks (if applicable). In addition, administrative needs are associated with fee collection. Depending on the type of parking fee payment method, transit agencies may need to handle, transfer, count, and secure cash. Additionally, transit agencies should employ theft prevention measures and auditing prac- tices. If customer service agents collect fees by hand, transit agencies must manage these employ- ees and handle scheduling, reporting for duty, payment, and so forth. Transit agencies also need to be able to accept and quickly address reports of problems with fee collection systems. Security and Parking Regulation Enforcement Security and parking regulation enforcement are ongoing O&M needs. To assist in safety and security, transit agencies should make every effort to design park-and-ride facilities following best practices in secure designs (see Chapter 5 for a discussion of the CPTED standards). Apart from design considerations, security and enforcement are largely an operational issue. Depending on a transit agencyâs context, security and parking enforcement may be managed with the same or separate personnel and processes. However, for this guidebook, secu- rity is addressed separately from enforcement. Transit agencies should consider the following aspects of security and enforcement. On-Site Security Security can be provided both on-site and remotely. On-site security can take many different forms and be provided by various entities. At the highest levels of on-site security, the transit agency or another party provides in-person, on-site, dedicated personnel to patrol and monitor the facility. This level of security is most appropriate when and where security risks are high, and is not commonly used at park-and-rides. A more efficient strategy for on-site security is to provide roaming patrols that move from facility to facility. Security personnel may visit facilities on a random (or seemingly random) basis to reduce the predictability of visits. Some facilities that are low risk may only need visits on an ad-hoc basisâresponding to complaints or calls for service. To assist in safety and security, transit agencies should make every effort to design park-and-ride facilities follow- ing best practices in crime prevention through environmental design.
64 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Sworn police officers or hired security personnel may perform on-site security, depending on transit agency preference and local factors. Due to the geographically dispersed nature of a transit agencyâs park-and-ride facilities, it may be beneficial to establish memoranda of under- standing with local law enforcement entities. Local law enforcement can sometimes more effi- ciently be dispatched to the park-and-ride site and may have better local understanding of the surrounding environment than transit agency police. Remote Security Closed-Circuit Television. The use of closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras is a common approach to providing remote security to park-and-ride facilities. By default, CCTV systems are usually recorded for retrieval in the event of an incident. Beyond recording, transit agencies may also monitor video feeds in real time to watch for security risks or to detect the beginnings of issues and work to prevent them. The biggest challenge with monitoring video feeds is having adequate staffing. Transit agen- cies often have hundreds or thousands of cameras and may need several personnel to adequately monitor targeted video feeds across the entire day. Usually, the most efficient approach is to record all video feeds and proactively monitor only those with a high security risk based on police intelligence and customer usage. CCTV cameras and supporting infrastructure (including power to the cameras; network connectivity for the video feeds; and back-end servers, software, and hardware for camera management and video storage) also require ongoing operations and maintenance and, there- fore, result in operational costs. These costs should be carefully considered and understood when installing a CCTV system. In addition, there must be clear requirements for maintaining security camera systems and the lines of sight at park-and-rides. Maintenance or other person- nel must ensure that vegetation or other obstacles do not, over time, obstruct the view of any cameras. Call Boxes. In addition to CCTV, transit agencies may install emergency call boxes in park- and-ride facilities. These call boxes need to be powered and maintained, and transit agencies must ensure that the call boxes work at all times. Security Inspections Park-and-ride facilities should be regularly inspected specifically to detect and correct security risks. A security inspection is not the same as a security or police patrol or an operations and maintenance inspection. However, the same personnel conducting any on-site inspection could perform security inspections, assuming adequate training and resources are provided. Security inspections focus on those items that specifically contribute to (or reduce the risk of) a safety or security risk. A security inspection should follow a checklist (e.g., see Figure 8) that includes several facets of the park-and-ride condition, including: ⢠Checking for adequate lighting in all areas of the park-and-ride. ⢠Ensuring that CCTV cameras have unobstructed views. ⢠Ensuring that directional and regulatory signage is visible and in good repair. ⢠Checking for any areas that are concealed or hidden from plain view. DART provides an example of a robust security inspection protocol. DART police sergeants inspect each DART park-and-ride facility every 3 years using a CPTED checklist. The police share the completed checklist and a memorandum documenting the findings from the inspec- tion with DARTâs maintenance and transportation departments so they can correct issues as needed. (Chapter 5 gives more details of the design considerations to help reduce security risks.)
Operating park-and-ride 65 Figure 8. Example of a crime prevention inspection checklist from DART.
66 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Parking Regulation Enforcement Park-and-ride facilities need security inspections and also regular enforcement of parking rules and regulations. Some typical enforcement issues are: ⢠Use of handicapped spaces. ⢠Use of special designated spaces (e.g., hybrid only, carpool only, compact car only, or short term only). ⢠Overnight parking or parking exceeding the maximum allowed parking duration. ⢠Abandoned vehicles. ⢠Compliance with parking fees or reservation programs. Similar to security, parking rule enforcement can take several different forms and frequencies. Initial payment of a parking fee is often enforced by infrastructure (e.g., gate arms that do not allow a customer to enter or exit without paying the fee). However, because transit agency policy may limit parking durations or because certain spaces are dedicated for special purposes, park- ing rule enforcement is still required and can include citations. According to the case studies, BART, Denver RTD, and Houston METRO issue citations to enforce parking regulations. Tran- sit agencies should create their own checklists or protocols for enforcement patrols to ensure the highest possible compliance with station- and system-specific parking rules. Staff. The same or different staff may perform security and rule enforcement, depending on the transit agency resources and priorities. Enforcement personnel may be assigned full-time to a specific park-and-ride or may circulate among park-and-ride facilities. Police officers, security personnel, or staff dedicated to parking enforcement may perform enforcement. For example, as of 2016, BART had six full-time officers dedicated to parking enforcement and 26 additional officers whose duties included parking enforcement at BARTâs 33 stations. Technology. Transit agencies with CCTV at park-and-rides can also take advantage of CCTV cameras to look for incorrectly parked vehicles or abandoned vehicles and dispatch enforcement personnel if violations are detected. Other technologies can assist with enforce- ment as well. For example, Denver RTD uses mobile license plate reader technology to scan through its lots to enforce its reserved space program. Customers register their vehicles and pay monthly fees to obtain reserved spaces at park-and-ride lots. A Denver RTD contractor drives through the lots, automatically capturing customer license plate numbers, checking them against the list of those of registered vehicles in the reserved space program, and enforcing payment of out-of-district parking fees. Found violators are issued warnings or fines for multiple infractions. Payment of Citations Transit agencies should allow customers to pay for their citations in as many ways as possible to improve the likelihood that customers will actually pay. Some options transit agencies cur- rently use are: ⢠By phone. ⢠In person. ⢠Online. ⢠By mail. In addition, transit agencies should have a mechanism for hearing and adjudicating customer disputes of fines. Denver RTD has a hearings officer who hears parking violation disputes. Citations issued by TriMet are prosecuted through the county circuit court in which TriMetâs headquarters is housed.
Operating park-and-ride 67 Towing of Vehicles Although most transit agencies reported having a policy to tow or impound vehicles at the ownerâs expense (usually for the customer leaving the vehicle parked for too long), transit agen- cies should carefully consider the implications of towing a vehicle from park-and-rides that are in remote locations. Removing the vehicle and having no way for the owner to travel to get the vehicle may itself be a safety risk (APTA 2015). Operations and Maintenance Inspections Regardless of whether the transit agency directly operates a park-and-ride facility or contracts the operation out, it needs to regularly inspect park-and-ride facilities for O&M issues. An O&M inspection is recommended in addition to a safety and security inspection (discussed previ- ously). However, the same personnel could perform all inspections, assuming that appropriate training and resources are provided. Regular O&M inspections allow transit agencies to: ⢠Assess facility conditions. ⢠Identify cleaning, environmental, or corrective maintenance needs. ⢠Reduce risks to customers. ⢠Ensure that parking contractors are meeting contractual requirements. Checklists and Reports Transit agencies should design a specific checklist, a schedule, and standard operating procedures to perform O&M inspections. Some items that could be included in this check- list are: ⢠Pavement condition. ⢠Pavement markings. ⢠Signage (wayfinding, information, and regulatory). ⢠Sidewalks and pedestrian pathways (including curb cuts). ⢠Bike racks, lockers, or parking. ⢠Lighting. ⢠Emergency call boxes. ⢠Landscaping. ⢠Shelters and passenger waiting areas. ⢠Ticket vending machines. ⢠Fencing and sound walls. In Chicago, a CTA consultant visually inspects stations on a monthly basis and submits reports to CTAâs parking management company for corrective action. Transit agencies should consider using a database to record the results of O&M inspections. This allows transit agencies to measure performance of the inspection process and to note inspection data trends. For example, transit agencies could query the database to see if the same problem occurs repeatedly at a given park-and-ride facility, which may indicate an underlying issue that needs to be addressed. Transit Asset Management Rule The FTAâs Transit Asset Management (TAM) rule (49 CFR Parts 625 and 630) also requires facility inspections and condition assessments. Chapter 9 discusses the TAM rule and its rela- tionship to park-and-ride management.
68 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Customer Service and Complaint Handling Customers can provide important and timely information about issues at a park-and-ride facility. Transit agencies need to incorporate feedback specific to park-and-rides into the normal feedback-handling processes and have protocols to triage customer feedback and take corrective action, if necessary. (At facilities that are operated by a contractor, the contractor could handle customer feedback.) Transit agencies should ensure that information on how to file a complaint or request customer service is highly visible and displayed in many locations both on-site at park-and-ride facilities and on the transit agencyâs website. Transit agencies should anticipate getting contacted by customers even if the transit agency does not own or operate the park-and-ride facility itself. Customer service agents should be prepared to handle or forward the issue to the appropriate organization without requiring the customer to pursue a different contact (i.e., to make a sec- ond phone call or send another email to a different organization). Operations Approaches: In-House Versus Contracting This section focuses on facilities that the transit agency owns or leases, where the transit agency is at least partially responsible for ongoing O&M. Transit agencies have many options when it comes to operating park-and-ride facilities. The term operating in this context refers to all activities necessary to keep the park-and-ride in service, including all activities that would normally be associated with O&M. The options fall on a spectrum from fully contracted to fully managed in-house (see Figure 9). In all cases, the responsibility for a successful parking program still falls on the transit agency through management of either in-house processes or contracted services. This section reviews: ⢠The strengths and challenges of managing park-and-ride facilities, both in-house and through a contracted service provider. ⢠Some decision points that transit agencies should consider when deciding whether to manage park-and-rides in-house or to contract out. ⢠Notable practices for contracts if a transit agency contracts out operations. Strengths and Challenges of Operations Approaches No one approach to park-and-ride operations will work for every transit agency. However, transit agencies should be aware of the strengths and challenges of each approach when making Transit agencies should anticipate pro- viding response to customer questions even if the transit agency does not own or operate the park-and-ride facility. Contracted: Contractor manages all aspects of operations and maintenance. In-House: Transit agency manages all aspects of operations and maintenance. Mixed: Transit agency contracts some operations and maintenance and manages others. Fully Contracted Fully Managed In-House Figure 9. Spectrum of operations approaches.
Operating park-and-ride 69 the decision of whether to manage the facility in-house or contract O&M. These strengths and challenges are discussed in three categories for the two main types of operations: ⢠Staffing and resource requirements. ⢠Level of control. ⢠Cost. In-House Operations Staffing and Resource Requirements. In-house operations require the highest level of transit agency staff support. A transit agency with direct responsibility for park-and-ride management, operations, and maintenance requires more transit agency personnel dedicated to park-and- rides than a transit agency that contracts out. However, needing more staff does not necessarily mean that in-house operations are more expensive than contracted operations. The relative costs vary from transit agency to transit agency. Because a park-and-ride facility can have many components and customer services, various transit agency staff with specialized skill sets may be needed. These personnel could include: ⢠Customer service representatives. ⢠Electricians, plumbers, painters, and general structural maintenance workers. ⢠Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning specialists. ⢠Information technology and networking technicians. ⢠Fee collection systems technicians (hardware and software) and managers. ⢠Pavement and sidewalk maintainers. ⢠Signage fabrication and repair workers. ⢠Monitoring staff for O&M inspections. ⢠Monitoring staff for security inspections. ⢠Security (i.e., policing). ⢠Parking rule enforcement officers. In addition, transit agencies need specialty vehicles and tools to perform maintenance activi- ties that are related to park-and-ride facilities (e.g., replacement of parking lot lights may require a bucket lift). However, most of the skills, functions, and specialty equipment needed to operate a park-and- ride may already be present within the transit agency. A transit agency should carefully inventory its own staffing and resources and determine whether they are sufficient to support in-house park-and-ride operations. Even a fully in-house operation may still occasionally need specialized services that occur too infrequently to require dedicated staff. Transit agencies usually contract these services out (e.g., elevator maintenance in a parking garage). Level of Control. Because the transit agency is directly operating its park-and-rides, in-house operations provide the highest level of direct control. The transit agency controls every aspect of the park-and-rideâfrom the customer service agent who handles complaints to the technician who repairs pavement cracks. Transit agencies that do operate park-and-rides in-house (e.g., BART and UTA) state that they value the degree of control over the facilities and the customer experience. Cost of In-House Operations. Costs vary among transit agen- cies and increase incrementally as park-and-ride facilities are added or Because the transit agency is directly operating its park-and-rides, in-house operations provide the highest level of direct control.
70 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities expanded. However, when deciding whether to operate in-house or contract out, transit agen- cies should carefully separate any new costs (for staff or resources that do not already exist, e.g., dedicated staff for parking enforcement) from the costs that will be shared with other transit agency programs (e.g., customer service agents to handle customer feedback). Contracted Operations Staffing and Resource Requirements. At a minimum, a transit agency will need to assign someone the duties of monitoring and managing the parking contractor, including reviewing and approving invoices or similar financial documents, monitoring contractor performance of duties, and handling contract disputes or issues. Depending on the size of the park-and-ride program and the number of contractors involved, these tasks may take from only a few hours a week to several full-timeâequivalent personnel. Level of Control. Although transit agencies maintain ownership over park-and-ride facili- ties, contracting out facility management does remove the transit agency from direct involve- ment in day-to-day operations. Some transit agencies may see this as a benefit. However, a reduction in direct control may also be a negative aspect of contracting out. The transit agency may find it more difficult to guarantee high-quality services or to make changes that may fall outside the scope of the current contract. Transit agencies that contract out operations state that they value the ability to reduce the staffing requirements of the parking program, which allows transit agency staff to focus on other priorities. Cost of Contracted Operations. The cost of contracting out park-and-ride operations is easy to quantify and usually includes the cost of the contract itself and the staff needed to man- age and oversee the contract. The cost of contracting should be compared to the cost of in-house operations. In addition, transit agencies should look ahead several years to forecast growth in the cost of contracting based on likely contract escalations. Mixed Operations The term mixed operations refers to the approach in which the transit agency contracts out some services and tasks while directly providing others. This approach is common among transit agencies and takes various forms. Mixed operations can be useful when transit agencies have resources to accomplish some of the park-and-ride activities but not others. Mixed operations can also allow the transit agency to maintain direct control over the daily customer experience while still having less-frequent or less-customer-centric tasks (e.g., pavement repair) completed by a contractor as needed. Because of the wide variety of transit agency and contractor roles, this section provides a basic snapshot of the various services that the case studies found were managed in-house or contracted out. In-House Services. The park-and-rideârelated activities that case study transit agencies operate in-house include: ⢠Customer service. ⢠Site inspections. ⢠Parking fee collection. ⢠Passenger facility maintenance. ⢠Security.
Operating park-and-ride 71 Contracted Services. The park-and-rideârelated activities that case study transit agencies contract out include: ⢠Snow removal. ⢠Trash removal. ⢠Cleaning. ⢠Landscaping and landscape maintenance. ⢠Pavement maintenance and state of good repair. ⢠Security camera maintenance. ⢠Parking fee collection. ⢠Reserved parking programs. ⢠Parking enforcement. ⢠Site inspections. A Decision-Making Framework for In-House Management Versus Contracting Making the decision of how to manage, operate, and maintain park-and-rides involves many factors. Based on the current practices of case study transit agencies, Table 8 shows a framework to help transit agencies in the decision-making process. This framework does not replace a tran- sit agencyâs local knowledge and expertise but may help guide the overall process. This basic framework consists of measuring the transit agency on four attributes that appear related to whether park-and-ride facilities are managed in-house or are contracted out. A transit agency can score itself on a spectrum between each of the two extremes provided for each attri- bute. If the bulk of the scores lean toward one approach, it may mean that the transit agency and its operating context are conducive to that approach. This framework was created based on patterns in current park-and-ride operations: ⢠Transit agencies that did not charge fees (or charged fees in a limited way): â Were focused on multimodal access at park-and-rides. â Had robust internal resources to manage park-and-ride facilities. â Were more likely to operate park-and-ride facilities in-house. Attribute Scoring Spectrum Conducive to In-House Operations Conducive to Contracted Operations Vision and goals for SOV parking Working to decrease or maintain SOV as a mode of access. Working to increase park-and-ride access from bicycles, walking, high-occupancy vehicles, and other modes. Working to increase or capitalize on SOV as a mode of access. Priority is to keep parking utilization rates high. Policies and approach to charging for parking Prefer not to have a fee or to keep fees limited in application and purpose, or local conditions are not conducive to charging for parking. Fees are (or should) be in place at all facilities, if possible. Fees are a critical part of the revenue stream. In-house capacity for facility operations and maintenance Existing resources are adequate or are ï¬exible enough to meet park-and-ride needs. Existing resources are limited or are inï¬exible to meet park-and-ride needs. Demand for parking Parking demand is low or moderate. Parking demand is high. Table 8. Decision-making framework for park-and-ride management approach.
72 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities ⢠Transit agencies that charged fees: â Were focused on growth or utilization of parking. â Had high parking demand. â Had limited resources to manage park-and-ride operations (or chose to focus these resources elsewhere). â Were more likely to contract out park-and-ride management. This framework by no means replaces a more robust costâbenefit analysis or quantifiable justification for pursuing one approach versus the other. However, the framework may help transit agencies identify internal policies and goals when making this decision. Also, a transit agency may need to change its approach to park-and-ride management over time. For example, WMATA had previously contracted out park-and-ride management. However, in 2010, WMATA decided to manage parking in-house to reduce costs. Then, in 2016, WMATA released a request for proposals to contract out parking management again. Notable Practices in Park-and-Ride Operations Contracts If a transit agency contracts out operations at one or more park-and-ride facilities, it should incorporate several desirable elements into contracts, if possible. Clear Delineation of Operations and Maintenance Responsibilities A park-and-ride facility has many components, substructures, processes, and activities, and contracts should clearly delineate which party is responsible for each. This is especially true for maintenance activities that are difficult to classify as preventive, corrective, or state of good repair (e.g., resealing pavement). Contracts could also include a clause that allows for cost shar- ing of activities that fall outside the scope of the tasks itemized in the contract but that are neces- sary for safe, continuous operation of the park-and-ride. Performance Requirements and Measures Ultimately, contract management involves ensuring that contractors provide the services required by the contract at the level of quality required by the contract at the agreed price. How- ever, without a way to objectively measure contractor performance, a transit agency may find it difficult to ensure that contractors deliver on what was promised. Contracts should include objective performance measures and methodologies for measurement. Some examples of per- formance measures are: ⢠Customer satisfaction with parking. ⢠Customer feedback response time. ⢠Annual condition assessment score. ⢠Fee collection equipment up-time. ⢠Parking utilization rates. Mitigations or Liquidated Damages for Unmet Performance Requirements Contracts should include set damages for when contractors fail to meet performance requirements. For example, if the expectation is that the contractor will trim vegetation to maintain security camera line of sight or will empty trash cans so they do not overflow, there should be a dollar value assigned to these expectations. When a contractor does not meet the requirement, the transit agency essentially charges the contractor the value of that performance requirement. Liquidated damages give transit agencies more control over the actual performance of park-and-ride contractors throughout the life of the contractual relationship.
Operating park-and-ride 73 Reduced Risk to Fluctuations in Parking Utilization If a park-and-ride contract is designed so that the cost of the contract (or revenue from the contract) is dependent upon parking utilization, transit agencies may wish to consider reducing the risk of dips in parking utilization. This is especially true in variable parking markets and for transit agencies that are proactively working to encourage multimodal access to park-and-rides. For example, CTAâs park-and-ride management contract guarantees CTA a certain minimum amount of revenue plus an incremental revenue stream based on contractor net revenues. Clear Definition of Liability Contracts should be clear about how the parties will handle liability, including damages claimed by third parties (e.g., transit customers and other park-and-ride users). Although it may be difficult to achieve, the best-case scenario for a transit agency is for all legal liability to fall on the contractor. For example, in CTAâs most recent parking management contract, CTA is fully indemnified, and the liability for claims falls on the contractor. Regular Inspections Transit agencies should also incorporate into contracts and standard operating practices regular inspections of park-and-ride facilities. The contract should also include a process by which these inspections result in corrective actions by the contractor and possibly liquidated damages assessed against the contractor if services were not performed as defined in the contract. The transit agency and the contractor should agree on this inspection process during contract negotiations. Managing Demand for Parking Another part of operating a park-and-ride facility is managing parking demandâwhen facili- ties are over-subscribed as well as when they are underutilized. This is particularly challenging when park-and-ride facilities begin to reach capacity. There are negative outcomes when park- and-ride facilities get too full, including frustrated customers and spillover parking into nearby neighborhoods. Underutilized facilities can give the appearance of poor planning and a misuse of public funds. This section discusses how to measure parking demand, provides options for managing parking demand, and describes performance metrics. Measuring and Monitoring Demand To be able to manage parking demand, transit agencies must first measure and monitor demand at park-and-ride facilities. Measurement of parking demand can be done in many ways. However, parking utilization is generally accepted as a measure of demand and is normally expressed as a percentage of parking spaces occupied out of all available parking spaces. For example, a park-and-ride with 500 spaces is 95 percent utilized when 475 parking spaces are occupied: 475 ÷ 500 = 0.95 à 100. The nuances of measuring utilization rates are discussed in this chapterâs Performance Metrics section. Transit agencies use different thresholds to designate a park-and-ride as full. In general, when a park-and-ride approaches between 80 and 90 percent utilization at peak, transit agencies consider the facility full. However, transit agency goals vary: ⢠Some transit agencies have the philosophy that there should (almost) always be a space avail- able, focusing on customer service. They may wish to set a goal for not more than 90 percent average utilization. Parking utilization is generally accepted as a measure of demand and is normally expressed as a percentage of parking spaces occupied out of all available parking spaces.
74 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities ⢠Some transit agencies have the philosophy that an empty space is not an efficient use of resources. The transit agency may wish to set a goal for not less than 90 percent average utilization. ⢠Case studies did not identify a threshold where a facility is considered underutilized. Depending on a transit agencyâs goals, the transit agency may wish to reduce, shift, or increase demand. Strategies to Reduce or Shift Demand Once a transit agency understands utilization rates across its park-and-ride facilities, it can begin identifying facilities that are at or near capacity. Transit agencies have two basic approaches to dealing with at-capacity park-and-ride facilities: ⢠Expand capacity by leasing parking spaces from another public or a private entity, by adding parking spaces to an existing facility, or by building a new facility. ⢠Reduce demand at a given park-and-ride or shift demand to other, less-utilized park-and-ride facilities. This section discusses several options for reducing or shifting demand. Transit agencies should employ at least some of these demand management actions before making significant investments in capital expansion of park-and-ride facilities. Provide Parking Availability Information Presenting customers with parking availability information can reduce the chances of frus- trated customers arriving at an overcrowded lot, which often results in spillover parking in adja- cent neighborhoods. Providing parking availability information either shifts demand to other facilities or changes the customerâs decision of whether to ride transit or drive. Parking availability information can be provided in real time (measured manually or automatically) or can be based on what typically happens at a given lot. For example, DART presents real-time information by using variable message signs positioned outside some of its park-and-rides. BART, on the other hand, presents estimated fill times for each park-and-ride facility on its park-and-ride website. These estimated fill times are based on actual collected data about when each park-and-ride usually reaches capacity. Sound Transit provides real-time utilization on its website by tracking the number of vehicles entering and exiting the parking facility. Different media can be used to provide parking availability information to customers: ⢠A transit agency app. ⢠The transit agency website. ⢠A social media account (e.g., tweet when a park-and-ride reaches capacity). ⢠Variable message signs positioned at: â Facility entrances. â High-utilization access points (e.g., freeway off-ramps leading to a park-and-ride). ⢠Customer notification subscription services (i.e., a customer signs up to be notified by email or text when a certain park-and-ride reaches capacity). Enact Parking Regulations Transit agencies can prohibit certain types of parking to ensure that a lot is used for daily transit riders. The typical approach to maximize available capacity for daily transit riders is to Providing customers with parking availability information can reduce the chances of frustrated customers arriving at an overcrowded lot.
Operating park-and-ride 75 limit the duration of parking. For example, UTA prohibits multiday parking when a facility reaches 80 percent utilization. Other transit agencies may elect to prohibit overnight parking in general. In addition, some transit agencies may reserve parking for customers making off-peak trips. Some transit agencies do not allow use of parking spaces for forming carpools and vanpools. For transit agencies in regions where parking is scarce, such as BART and WMATA, security measures ensure that customers are using transit and not using the facility for access to local businesses. Provide Midday or Short-Term Parking Customers who arrive during the peak period may fill parking spaces with all-day parking. Transit agencies may consider providing midday or short-term parking. BART designates mid- day parking areas at some transit stations. These areas do not allow for vehicles to be parked before 10 a.m. This leaves space available for customers arriving after 10 a.m. Additionally, monthly reserved spaces and carpool spaces that are not filled after 10 a.m. convert to daily park- ing and are available for midday customers. TriMet has two park-and-ride facilities with short-term parking. Ten short-term parking spaces are designated by meters at each lot. The spaces are metered at $0.50 per hour, with a 5-hour limit. Metering is enforced 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on TriMet holidays. Maximize Space Transit agencies may act to improve the efficient use of available square footage inside a park-and-ride lot. For example, a transit agency may be able to reorganize the parking layout inside a lot to maximize the number of available spaces. This relatively small investment in restriping the facility is an efficient way to increase available capacity if a more efficient layout can be found. Another initiative that can help improve efficient use of available park-and-ride space is to actively manage the parking at the lot through valet services. NJ TRANSIT has experience using valet-assisted parking at the overflow lot for its MetroPark facility. The parking operator at MetroPark uses valet-assisted parking during periods of peak demand, and customers are not charged an additional fee for the service. Valet- assisted parking adds 100 spaces to the 270-space overflow lot (a 37 percent increase in capacity). Valet-assisted parking can fit more cars into the same area by: ⢠Requiring less buffer space between parked cars and between parked cars and obstacles (e.g., poles). ⢠Parking cars in tandem (i.e., parking a second car behind another so that the first car cannot exit until the second car is moved). ⢠Using parking lot travel lanes as additional parking space. Provide Alternatives to Driving Alone Another option to reduce parking demand is to encourage alternatives to driving alone and parking. There are many possible alternatives, each with its own strategies and design requirements. However, the most typical alternatives used by transit agencies to reduce driving alone are: ⢠Encouraging carpooling or vanpooling by providing guaranteed or priority spaces (e.g., spaces that are closest to the transit boarding area) (Figure 10). Transit agencies can improve the efficient use of available square footage inside a park-and-ride lot by restriping the facility to increase available parking spaces.
76 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities ⢠Encouraging the use of ridesourcing companies by allowing these companies to use existing kiss-and-ride areas or by dedicating curb space for passenger loading and unloading. ⢠Increasing bicycling by providing better bike access and parking infrastructure, including bike lockers or an enclosed storage area. ⢠Increasing pedestrian use by providing better access to the park-and-ride and platform and by protecting pedestrians from conflict with vehicular traffic. ⢠Adding local bus service that targets the station catchment area and is timed to meet rail or express bus service and is frequent enough to attract riders. The effectiveness of any of these efforts depends on the local context, geography, land use surrounding the park-and-ride, and cost (in time and money) incurred by a customer who uses an alternative mode of access. Charge Parking Fees Economic disincentives, such as parking fees, are also capable of changing behavior. Transit agencies with crowded park-and-ride facilities may decide to implement parking fees as a tool for managing demand. In general, the effectiveness of using parking fees as a demand management tool depends largely on the local context. In regions with severe traffic congestion and high downtown parking rates, charging park-and-ride parking fees may have little to no impact on parking demand. To incentivize shifting parking from overutilized to underutilized park-and-ride facilities, the park- ing fee difference must be substantial enough that customers are willing to change the commute pattern to use the less-expensive park-and-ride. Figure 10. Example of providing reserved parking for carpools (King County Metro). Photograph courtesy of Kathryn Coffel.
Operating park-and-ride 77 Several transit agencies, including CTA, BART, and Denver RTD, use parking fees as a tool for managing demand. Some case study transit agencies provided specific information about parking fees as a demand management tool. (Chapter 7 provides additional discussion about implementing parking fees.) ⢠CTA charges for parking at all park-and-ride facilities in the CTA system, including those facilities operated by local municipalities. CTA sets parking fees at park-and-rides based on current demand and the local market rate for parking. CTA has used parking fees to attempt to manage parking demand. For example, in 2012, CTA increased weekday parking prices from $4.00 to $5.00 at four heavily used park-and-rides. At the same time, CTA reduced park- ing prices from $4.00 to $2.00 at four underutilized park-and-rides. ⢠BART has managed demand for parking throughout the system via parking fees on week- days since 2002. Reserved parking passes are available on a daily or monthly basis for a fee. In 2016, all BART stations had a waitlist for the monthly reserved parking program, with over 33,000 people on waitlists. In late 2015, BART implemented a demand-based parking program for non-reserved parking. The policy is to adjust rates every 6 months by $0.50 if a facility is over 95 percent utilized, up to a $3.00 maximum daily fee. As of 2016, all BART parking facilities were full except for two that were at just under 95 percent of capacity. Daily non-reserved parking fees range from $2.00 to $3.00, except for one station that does not have a daily maximum due to the high demand for the location ($8.50 daily fee). ⢠Denver RTD focuses its fee-based parking management program on out-of-district customers. Customers who live outside the transit district (and therefore do not contribute to the regional sales tax) must pay $4.00 per day. Daily parking is free for customers who live within the transit district. However, if a vehicle is parked for over 24 hours, the in-district customer is charged $2.00 per day. Reserved Parking Reserved parking programs do not reduce parking demand but do increase the certainty of parking availability for customers who have reserved spaces. Reserved parking programs can help reduce the frustration of showing up to a park-and-ride hoping for a spot, only to find none available. In Regional Transit Parking Management Program Design, Sound Transit cited the following benefits of managing demand through a reserved parking program: ⢠Increase transit ridership. ⢠Improve customer satisfaction, access, and social equity by: â Providing greater certainty of finding a parking space. â Providing access to preferred parking. â Providing the ability to travel later in the morning. â Reducing commute time. â Allowing greater flexibility. ⢠Reduce overcrowding on transit vehicles by spreading out when customers arrive. ⢠Reduce congestion on local roads surrounding transit-related parking facilities by spreading out vehicle arrivals (Sound Transit 2016). Typically, the transit agency designates a certain set of spaces within a given park-and-ride as reserved for either: ⢠Individual customers who have applied for a space or paid a fee. Calgary Transit and BART use this approach. ⢠Carpools and vanpools. BART and Sound Transit use this approach. If the reserved spaces are not used by a certain time of day, then the spaces are made available on a first-come, first-served basis. Reserved parking programs do not reduce parking demand but do increase the certainty of parking availability for customers who have reserved spaces.
78 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Strategies to Increase Demand On the opposite end of the spectrum, some park-and-rides may have lower-than-desired levels of demand. There are several possible options for dealing with excess parking capacity. For example, a transit agency that leases parking spaces may renegotiate the number of spaces leased from the property owner. A transit agency that owns the park-and-ride facility may elect to develop or allow development in a park-and-ride with excess capacity by turning the park- and-ride into a TOD. (Chapter 10 discusses this approach.) This section focuses on approaches to increase parking demand. Increase the Level and Quality of Transit Service DART, Houston METRO, and other transit agencies report a positive relationship between transit service quality and both ridership and parking demand. If transit service is improved (e.g., higher frequencies) and latent demand for transit exists, park-and-ride utilization may increase due to increased ridership. Eliminate or Reduce Parking Charges If a park-and-ride has a parking fee but parking space is underutilized, reducing or eliminat- ing the parking fee may help increase parking demand. Reducing the parking fee is both a strat- egy to shift demand (i.e., from a crowded park-and-ride to a less-crowded park-and-ride) and a strategy to create new demand (i.e., customers who were not riding because of the combined parking fee and transit fare may now decide that transit is a competitive option once the parking fee is eliminated). NJ TRANSIT charges fees at almost all park-and-ride lots except those with low utilization. These lots usually offer low-frequency transit services, or the transit services already have high fares because of the long distances customers would travel. Market the Service Marketing the park-and-ride can increase its utilization. Marketing could be general and apply to all park-and-ride facilities, or transit agencies could target specific markets with adver- tising to shift or influence local parking demand. In Chicago, Metraâs parking contractor advertises Metraâs park-and-ride services to encour- age the use of parking at Metra stations. Performance Metrics Measuring performance is an industry best practice and applies to all transit agency operations and programs. There are many pos- sible ways to measure the performance of a park-and-ride program, including utilization rates, access mode share, and daily cost per space. Transit agencies use each according to locally defined goals and objectives. This section discusses several commonly used performance measures. Utilization Rates A utilization rate is often used as both a performance measure and an indicator of when transit agencies may need to explore options to expand or manage parking demand (managing demand is discussed in this chapterâs Managing Demand for Parking section). Measuring park-and-ride performance is an industry best practice and applies to all transit agency operations and programs.
Operating park-and-ride 79 A utilization rate is normally expressed as a percentage of parking spaces occupied out of all available parking spaces. Utilization rate Number of occupied spaces Number of available spaces 100= Ã Presentation of Utilization Rate Data Table 9 and Table 10 provide an example of a typical presentation of utilization rate data. The examples are adapted from NJ TRANSIT (2015). After compiling the data by rail line, NJ TRANSIT also calculates the overall parking capacity and utilization by type of service (Table 10). Data Sources Number of Available Parking Spaces. A transit agency needs an up-to-date inventory of the number of available parking spaces at each park-and-ride. This inventory should be regularly maintained and updated. Number of Used Parking Spaces. A transit agency needs a valid estimate of the typical num- ber of parking spaces used at each park-and-ride. The number of used parking spaces should be updated regularly because changes to transit service or fares as well as other factors outside the Service Mode Number of Spaces Number of Used Spaces Percent Occupied Commuter rail 64,932 50,313 77% Light rail 7,926 4,234 53% Bus 18,941 13,053 69% Total 91,799 67,600 74% Source: NJ TRANSIT 2015. Table 10. Sample park-and-ride utilization table by mode. Station Number of Spaces Number of Used Spaces Percent Occupied Wood-Ridge 130 114 88% Teterboro (Williams Ave.) 27 17 63% Essex St. (Hackensack) 214 177 83% Anderson St. (Hackensack) 50 42 84% New Bridge Landing 281 239 85% River Edge 101 98 97% Oradell 304 260 86% Emerson 101 85 84% Westwood 220 192 87% Hillsdale 261 222 85% Source: NJ TRANSIT 2015. Table 9. Sample park-and-ride utilization table for Pascack Valley commuter rail line.
80 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities transit agencyâs control can influence parking demand (e.g., increases in the price of downtown parking may increase park-and-ride demand). There are many possible ways to capture the number of used parking spaces. Some examples used by transit agencies are: ⢠An annual or semiannual count at each park-and-ride facility taken on a single day. NJ TRANSIT uses this approach. ⢠A monthly count at each park-and-ride facility taken on a single day. King County Metro and Sound Transit use this approach. ⢠Constant counting aided by technology (e.g., access gates, vehicle counters, and license plate readers). Denver RTD, Calgary Transit, and BART use this approach. Illegally parked cars should be included in the count of used parking spaces, which can cause the calculated utilization to exceed 100 percent. Because parking demand typically changes by time of day and day of week, transit agencies need to decide when to capture the utilization counts to best represent the parking demand. Usually, parking demand peaks on weekdays in the early to mid-morning (see Figure 11). How- ever, the time of the peak may vary from facility to facility. Parking rates are usually more stable in the middle of the week (i.e., Tuesday through Thursday) than on Monday and Friday (due to customers taking days off adjacent to weekends). Capturing utilization counts at the morning peak in the middle of the work week provides the best picture of peak park-and-ride utilization. Strengths and Weaknesses of Measures All measures, no matter how robust, have strengths and weaknesses. Annual or semiannual single-day counts may be the simplest and least-expensive way to capture utilization rates and are usually valid enough for identifying park-and-rides that are nearing capacity. On the other hand, these single-day counts do not provide useful intelligence about when park-and-rides tend to fill up or empty out. Constant counts provide the greatest amount of information to transit agencies (and could also be used to provide real-time parking availability to customers). This can be accomplished manually by adding utilization counts to existing staff duties (King County Metro uses field U ti liz ati on Time of Day Mid-Week Mon. & Fri. WeekendPeak Utilization Figure 11. Example park-and-ride utilization curve.
Operating park-and-ride 81 supervisors to collect the data) or using technology such as license plate scanning technology (used by Denver RTD) and automated vehicle counters (used by Sound Transit). Access Mode Share Some transit agencies try to manage parking demand or encourage alternatives to driving alone. To evaluate the effectiveness of initia- tives and activities, transit agencies can measure access mode share at individual park-and-rides. Access mode share measures the percentage of customers at a given park-and-ride that drive alone and park, are dropped off, carpool, bike, walk, use feeder transit, and so forth. Data Sources To calculate access mode share, transit agencies need to know how each park-and-ride customer accessed the park-and-ride facility. Pos- sible data collection methods include: ⢠On-site observation: watching customers as they arrive and classifying their access mode. ⢠Customer surveys: administering surveys at park-and-rides to specifically ask customers about their access mode. Access mode categories that transit agencies may consider including in the analysis are: ⢠Drive alone and park. ⢠Carpool/vanpool and park. ⢠Dropped off by a family member or friend. ⢠Ridesource (e.g., Uber or Lyft). ⢠Carshare (e.g., Zipcar). ⢠Use transit. ⢠Bike. ⢠Walk. ⢠Other. Transit agencies may also want to ask where the customer is coming from (e.g., from home, work, or another location) in order to look for patterns based on the customerâs trip origin. Transit agencies may want to request specific address information in order to identify the extent of the park-and-rideâs catchment area. How Much Data to Collect Collecting access mode data can be a challenge. Although more data are usually desirable, a single-day sample taken once a year at each park-and-ride during the morning on a mid-week day (Tuesday through Thursday) usually provides an adequate representation of access mode share for trips that originate from home. If transit agencies are interested in the origins and destinations of all customer trips, additional sampling may be necessary to capture more times of the day, including the afternoon. Surrounding Land Use and Transit Station Typology Access mode share is also dependent on surrounding land use and transit station typology. Figure 12 shows the average access mode percentage by station type. Transit agencies should keep these norms in mind when setting internal targets for mode share and to use as a bench- mark for performance. Some transit agencies try to manage parking demand or encourage alter- natives to driving alone. To evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives and activities, transit agencies can measure access mode share at individual park- and-rides.
82 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities Daily Cost per Space A daily cost-per-space measure can help transit agencies track trends in ongoing operations and maintenance costs, plan for operating costs when building or expanding facilities, and eval- uate approaches to operating park-and-rides (e.g., in-house versus contracted management). For example, three transit agencies in the case studies reported calculating a daily cost per space as reflected in Table 11. The transit agencies did not provide full explanation of their methodologies. The calculation for daily cost per space can represent the aver- age operating expense that the transit agency incurs for each parking space, every day. To calculate the daily cost per space, the transit agency can divide the total annual operating cost incurred for man- agement, operations, and maintenance of park-and-rides (excluding the costs to operate the transit service at the park-and-ride) by the total daily available parking spaces throughout the year. The daily cost per space should be calculated based on the number of days the park-and-ride facility is available for parking to access transit services. Figure 12. Average station access mode share by station type. Source: Coffel et al. 2012. A daily cost-per-space measure can help transit agencies track trends in ongoing operations and maintenance costs, plan for operating costs when building or expanding facilities, and evaluate approaches to operating park-and-rides.
Operating park-and-ride 83 =Daily cost per space Total annual parking operating cost Total annual daily available spaces Where: Total annual daily available spaces Number of spaces Number of spaces . . . Number of spaces day 1 day 2 day 365 = + + + For example, BART has 46,735 parking spaces and an estimated $21,835,000 in annual operat- ing expenses associated with the parking program (estimated annual operating expenses using BARTâs average cost per space in Table 11). To calculate the average cost per space, first find the total annual daily available spaces. If the number of spaces has remained constant all year long, multiply the current available spaces by 365 days. For BART, this equates to 46,735 spaces à 365 days = 17,058,275 total annual daily available spaces. Then, divide the annual parking oper- ating cost ($21,835,000) by the annual daily available spaces (17,058,275). This results in a daily cost per space of $1.28. To get the most valid result, be sure that annual daily available spaces reflects any changes in the number of available parking spaces throughout the year (e.g., if a facility was expanded in the middle of the year). Costs for Each Facility Different parking facilities have different daily costs per space. If the resources exist, transit agencies might find it useful to track daily cost per space at each individual park-and-ride facility in order to detect when a particular facility is getting more expensive to operate. For example, UTA tracks costs for each facility. Data Sources Several inputs are needed to calculate daily cost per space. Number of Spaces Available at Each Facility (or in the Overall System). The number of available spaces should be inventoried at least annually to ensure records are keeping up with actual spaces. To address changes to available spaces between annual inventories, transit agen- cies can keep a timeline of when spaces were added or removed throughout the year. This time- line will enable the transit agency to create an accurate estimate of the number of daily spaces available throughout the entire year. Operating Costs Associated with the Park-and-Ride Operation. Operating cost data should be available through the transit agencyâs accounting system. Challenges to accurately capturing and attributing incurred costs related to the park-and-ride operations include park- and-ride costs spread over several different departments and cost data not collected in sufficient Transit Agency Daily Cost per Space (Surface Lots) Daily Cost per Space (Structured Parking) Calgary Transit $2.33 $6.21 BART $1.28 average for all spaces TriMet $1.00 to $2.00 average for all spaces Table 11. Reported daily cost per space. Transit agencies might find it useful to track daily cost per space at each individual park-and-ride facility in order to detect when a particular facility is getting more expensive to operate.
84 Decision-Making toolbox to plan and Manage park-and-ride Facilities detail to allocate to park-and-ride operations. These costs should include all or a portion of the following expenses, in addition to others that the transit agency deems applicable: ⢠The fees paid to the parking contractor (if applicable to contracted operations). ⢠Trash removal, cleaning, and landscaping. ⢠Pavement and structural repairs and preventive maintenance. ⢠Management expenses associated with parking program oversight. ⢠Snow and ice removal. ⢠Leasing fees (if spaces are leased from another entity). ⢠Maintenance of park-and-ride structures and passenger amenities (e.g., shelters, waiting areas, signage, and bike parking). ⢠Security and enforcement of parking rules. Other Costs to Include in Calculation. When calculating daily cost per space, transit agen- cies need to decide whether to include the expenses incurred to collect parking fees (the alterna- tive is to subtract the cost from parking revenues reported) and whether to include depreciation of park-and-ride assets. Summary Managing and operating a park-and-ride facility is an ongoing and dynamic process. To ensure successful utilization of the facility and satisfied customers, transit agencies must care- fully consider how best to approach park-and-ride management and decide on the appropriate balance between in-house and contracted operations that makes the most sense given the local context. More in-house operations will require more internal staff and resources but will provide more direct control over park-and-ride services. More contracted operations will require fewer internal staff but will provide reduced direct control over park-and-ride services. Contracting out for parking management still requires transit agencies to be proactive to ensure a high-quality customer experience. This involves ensuring that contracts are written to clearly delineate lines of responsibility for the various park-and-ride management activi- ties, requiring contractors to perform to certain quantifiable levels, and incorporating a regular inspection process to inspect park-and-ride facilities to ensure contractor performance. Park-and-rides have a long list of ongoing O&M needs that involve more than just maintain- ing the parking surface. Park-and-rides require active enforcement of parking rules and pro- active efforts to maintain and improve security. Transit agencies should also regularly perform inspections to detect security, operations, and maintenance issues before they result in significant problems. Managing demand for parking requires measurement of demand (typically calculated as a utilization rate) as well as strategic efforts to accomplish transit agency goals to increase, shift, or reduce parking demand. Many options are available to transit agencies to manage demand, and the effectiveness of efforts should be assessed using performance measurement techniques.
