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WMATA Real-Time Parking Information Feasibility Study Chapter 3: BEST PRACTICES REVIEW well as providing real-time parking information. For this demonstration project a publicprivate partnership was formed among California Partners for Advanced Transit and Highways (PATH), the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), the BART District (BART), ParkingCarma, Inc., and Quixote Corporation. Interagency agreements and contracts outlined specific roles and responsibilities of each partner, which facilitated the use of private resources to implement smart parking at a transit station. The project agreements documented that the partners were willing to work together to implement and launch the field test at the selected station. Primary partners and subcontractors were identified while the project proposal was developed. Periodic meetings and weekly updates assisted in maintaining these relationships throughout the project. Funding for the project was provided primarily by the private partners who covered most of the capital costs and maintenance/operations associated with this field test. Initial capital costs were estimated to total $150-$250 per space while maintenance/operations costs were estimated to be $40-$60 per space per year. The partnership began with a study to determine which BART station would be most appropriate to be used as the location of the project. Some of the major factors for consideration included: • Parking at the selected station should be operating at or near capacity • The location should be near a major freeway or arterial • There should be structured access (entrances and exits) to the parking lot for placement of vehicle sensor technology to ensure accurate parking counts • Jurisdictional cooperation and agreements between the BART District and other partners/stakeholders should be in place or obtainable in a reasonable amount of time The Rockridge BART station in Oakland, California has a high demand for parking and 862 total spaces. Analyses conducted by researchers in April 2003 found that parking demand was the highest at this station (as compared to other stations that were being considered) and even with a ten percent over-subscription rate on monthly permits not all spots are filled every day. As a result, the Rockridge station was selected as the smart parking test site. Originally, the project was to be incorporated as an overflow parking strategy for the Dublin/Pleasanton BART station in Pleasanton, California. However, an economic downturn in the Bay Area lessened the parking demand at that particular station before the project began. As a result the Rockridge site was selected. The fact that changes in the economy can have a significant impact on congestion and affect parking demand was an early lesson learned. Researchers employed expert interviews, internet surveys, and focus groups and reviewed parking reservation data to conduct a thorough analysis of the smart parking project. Over 400 participants completed the initial survey and 177 completed the final survey. General Project Information - BART’s Smart Parking field test began in December 2004 and ended in April 2006 at the Rockridge BART Station. The BART smart parking field test was the first of its kind in the United States. The system provided real-time parking availability between the hours of 7:30 AM and 10:00 AM Monday-Friday. Page 3-8 June 2009
WMATA Real-Time Parking Information Feasibility Study Chapter 3: BEST PRACTICES REVIEW Motorists could reserve a space up to two weeks in advance or the day of their transit use. Fifty parking spaces in Bart’s East lot were utilized for the field test of which 15 spaces were held for advance reservations and five spaces maintained as a buffer. Elements of the project included: • Two solar powered changeable message signs (CMSs) on Highway 24 which were placed before and after a heavily traveled three bore tunnel in the East Bay • Fixed station and wayfinding signs installed on local streets and at the smart parking site • Centralized intelligent reservation and real time availability system which provided parking availability via telephone, internet, or PDA • A wireless parking lot counting system consisting of six in-ground sensors, two Local Base Units (LBUs) to control the sensors and a Master Base Unit (MBU) for overall system control The CMS displays alternated between two messages: the number of available smart parking spaces at the Rockridge BART station and static directions to the smart parking site from the highway. Expert interviews with the smart parking project manager indicated that the CMSs were beneficial because they provided general project awareness and, after seeing the parking availability every day at the same time, some travelers were encouraged to participate in the field test. CMS placement is important, and the location should be on users’ commute routes. As indicated in user survey results, the CMSs were not widely employed in users’ decision making processes for this project. Sensors were located at each entrance to the reserved area and exit of the smart parking lot to track occupancy. They wirelessly communicated parking count information to the solar-powered LBUs, which transmitted data to the MBU. From there, data was transmitted to the ParkingCarma, Inc. central computer through the Internet. Once data reached the central computer, parking availability information was updated on the three user interfaces (CMSs, phone system, and the reservation website). Vehicle counting was done primarily to account for a person parking without a reservation, and minimizing the possibility of a last-minute reservation being granted when the lots were full. The communications aspects of the wireless counting system worked well; however, the inground sensors were prone to miscounts. Fees - Initially the reservation service was provided free of charge with fees for the reservation beginning in October 2005, 10 months after the launch of the project. Users who made en route reservations were charged $1.00 for the service, and those who made pre-trip reservations were charged $4.50. As part of the registration process, users entered their credit card information with a flat fee of $30 being charged as an initial deposit into the user’s account. Reservation fees were subsequently deducted from the account with an additional $30 added automatically as needed. As the field test approached its end, users were charged on a per-transaction basis. In 2006, after the field test was completed, BART began charging vehicles $1 a day for unreserved, firstcome, first-served spaces. With the implementation of reservation fees, drive-in reservations increased at the expense of advanced reservations. Initially 57 percent of users reserved a parking space upon arrival to the lot, with this increasing to 80 percent after the introduction of fees. The majority of participants continued to use the service after fees were Page 3-9 June 2009
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