Metro would need to charge at least $2.50 for weekend parking fees to be profitable, but the move would bring in far less money than adding alcohol advertisements at the cash-strapped transit agency, according to a staff report.
Metro board members are looking for ways to bridge a nearly $30 million gap in the budget that begins July 1 without cutting bus and rail service as Metro’s staff has proposed.
The idea of charging for currently free weekend parking at the system’s 35 Metrorail lots and garages has been discussed, shot down and suggested again by board members.
The transit agency estimates it would have to charge at least $2.50 for the new fees to pay off, Metro spokeswoman Candace Smith said. Parking at the system’s lots and garages costs $3.25 to $4.75 on weekdays. It is free on weekends and holidays.
A $2.50 fee would bring in an estimated $3 million in gross parking revenue if a quarter of the spots were used, according to Metro. But adding the fees could discourage some people from riding the system, thus reducing ridership and fare revenue. It also would cost more to expand the contract with the company that monitors the lots.
That would lower the total gain to an estimated $82,865 per year, according to a Metro report.
Increasing the fee to $3 would bring in what the report calls an “incremental” $200,000. The agency did not run numbers using the full weekday fees, Smith said.
Board member Peter Benjamin, who represents Maryland, doesn’t support the plan. “We don’t make enough to make it worth it,” he said.
Meanwhile, Metro officials estimate they could bring in as much as $500,000 if they allowed alcohol advertisements on buses, trains and within stations. They currently prohibit any ads promoting alcohol or tobacco products.
Charging weekend parking fees faces political challenges because they would be felt more in Virginia and Maryland than in the District.
The District has just five of the system’s lots and they tend to be smaller, with fewer than 2,100 of the system’s nearly 60,000 spots. Virginia has seven lots with a total of 17,382 spaces, while Maryland has the bulk of spots at 23 Metro station parking facilities.
Board Chairman Jim Graham, who represents the District, asked Metro to take another look at the fees for Thursday’s meeting.
Riders from suburban areas, who are more likely to use the lots, already may pay higher fares than D.C. riders.
A rider who travels from Glenmont to Gallery Place on the Red Line pays $2.35 during off-peak weekend hours, while a rider who travels from Stadium-Armory to Foggy Bottom on Orange and Blue lines would pay $1.35. Tack on a parking fee and the difference increases even more.
