Paying for Parking at Cypress Park & Ride
Monday, May 12, 2008 3:40 PM
Several of you have written in on the blog, asking how the garage at Cypress Park & Ride works.
Drivers must tap their Q Card to raise the gate and enter the garage. At that time, $1.50 is deducted from your full-fare Q Card to pay for parking. When you exit, the gate opens automatically.
When you board the bus, tap your card again. At that time, $2.00 will be deducted from your full-fare Q Card. A total of $3.50 - the same amount you were paying before the garage was built - will be deducted for parking in the garage and riding the bus to downtown.
Your full-fare card is being charged twice: once for parking ($1.50) and once for boarding the bus ($2.00).
Every vehicle that enters the garage will be charged $1.50 - including carpoolers - except for the following:
- If the Q Card has a vanpool contract, no money will be deducted.
- If the Q Card has a discount contract (student, senior or the disabled), 75 cents will be deducted.
Essentially, for bus riders, the balance of their fare is deducted when they tap their Q Card upon boarding. If they are full-fare passengers, $2.00 is deducted (for a total of $3.50 after counting the $1.50 parking fee). For passengers with discounts, $1.00 is deducted (for a total of $1.75, after counting the 75-cent parking fee).
The bus boarding is treated as a transfer, but the difference between the "Route 800" fare paid at the garage entrance and the bus fare must be deducted.
What happens if you forget something in the evening and must return to the garage? As long as the two-hour transfer period has not expired, you will not be charged to enter the garage again. The two-hour window begins when you tap your Q Card upon first boarding the bus.
"We tested all this stuff," said Julie Fernandez, manager of revenue analysis. "We sent information to First Transit, who provides the bus service for Cypress, to make sure they knew what was going on and that information is being communicated and updated on the Web and on our bus schedules, which previously said parking was free."
Although money is being deducted twice on Cypress Park & Ride patrons' Q Cards, it is important to note that the total amount of money being deducted is not any higher than when patrons previously tapped only once to get into the garage.
If you believe your Q Card has not been charged properly, please contact our Q Card Help Desk at 713-635-4000 and select option 2.