Park & Ride Lot: Save Time and Money
Park and ride lots, or incentive parking areas, are places that help to facilitate the use of public transportation for commuters who live on the outside of city limits. If a person living in the suburbs needs to commute to the downtown area in a major city, he or she may drive to a park and ride lot in close proximity to the subway or the train. Then they pay a fee to leave their car there for the day while traveling to the place of work by bus or train, or by carpooling.
There are many benefits of using a park and ride. For one, expensive city parking rates are avoided. In many cities, if a person's place of work does not provide a free parking spot, paying for parking can cost a total of $75 for a single day. This is hardly an economically viable solution for most commuters. Using a park and ride lot, on the contrary, is a cheap alternative, and commuters may also purchase a monthly public transportation ticket or card for a very affordable flat rate.
Park and ride lots first began appearing in the United States in the 1960s. Many park and ride lots incentivize commuters who happen to drive alternative fuel vehicles as well, offering prime parking spots for cars with low emission designs, cars or trucks that participate in carpooling arrangements, and high occupancy vehicles.
But park and ride lots do not necessarily accommodate commuters needing to use public transport exclusively. Car sharing services that operate out of park and ride lots are also very common. Many park and ride lots also facilitate informal or casual carpooling. The service may only travel in one direction at a certain time of the day - taking passengers toward a central business district in the morning, and then in the opposite direction in the evening. Mid-day trips are less frequent. Generally, parking in a park and ride lot overnight is not allowed, but the rules may vary depending from place to place.
However, park and ride lots themselves may even become too busy from time to time. When this is the case, people will sometimes organize separate carpooling arrangements to transport themselves to a public transit station, and they will then take a bus or train into a city center from there. On the whole, park and ride lots are a great travel alternative, helping to reduce pollution, traffic congestion, and allowing a commuter to save money in gas and parking charges. You can find out more information on car pooling and car sharing by visiting MyCasualCarPool .
About the Author:
Danielle K. D. works for RideshareOptimizer.com, that helps commuters form carpools. He works to help for those who want information about best rideshare websites, commuter parking lots, Instant carpooling, Ride Sharing, Park and Ride Lots. For more detail visit: www.rideshareoptimizer.com & SEO USA