Regional park-and-ride use decreases 6%
Despite decline, demand remains higher than 2007 levels
Higher unemployment rates and decreased fuel costs are the likely cause of a drop in commuter demand for regional park-and-ride spaces in 2009.
According to results from an autumn survey of facilities, commuters’ use of the region’s park-and-rides went down by nearly 6% from last year, decreasing by 1,150 vehicles to 17,200.
Graph excerpt shows gas prices (yellow line) and the use of park-and-ride facilities (blue bars). See full graph.
This is the first time year-to-year demand has decreased since 2002, when the survey of regional park-and-ride use was first conducted annually.
“The good news is that despite the decline from 2008, park-and-ride usage remains slightly higher than 2007 levels,” said Metro Transit Facilities Planner Charles Carlson.
That year, the survey showed that 17,164 vehicles used the region’s park-and-rides. Between 2007 and 2008, gas prices spiked as high as $4 a gallon, which may have prompted more commuters to park their cars and board a train or bus to get to work or school, Carlson said.
The survey represents a year-to-year comparison of use of the region’s park-and-ride and park-and-pool facilities. Staff from Metro Transit, regional transit providers and the Minnesota Department of Transportation counted vehicles at facilities in late September and early October.
Capacity levels remain steady
Capacity at regional facilities remained nearly even with the 2008 total of 25,800, due to a combination of facility openings and closures.
An express bus bound for Minneapolis departs from a park-and-ride lot in Oakdale before dawn on a winter morning.
Additional capacity since the 2008 survey included an expansion at the Guardian Angels Church lot (adding 235 spaces) in Oakdale and two new Lakeville park-and-ride projects, funded by the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA). Those two projects added a combined total of 940 spaces.
Park-and-ride lots associated with the opening of the Northstar Line and UPA-funded facilities in Blaine, Roseville and Apple Valley will be counted in future system surveys, since the facilities opened after this year’s survey was conducted.
Despite a decrease in overall use by commuters, the system has 29 facilities near, at or over capacity: 13 facilities are near capacity (85%-95% full), five are at capacity (96%-100% full) and 11 are over capacity. In the 2008 survey, a total of 38 facilities fell into those categories.