This week, Damien talks with Frank Ching, Metro’s Senior Director of Parking Management. Ching reviews early feedback on and impacts of the new paid parking program at the El Monte Bus Station. Earlier this week, Metro began charging $2 for car parking at El Monte, as well as requiring driver TAP card validation to make sure folks who park there are actually riding Metro.

So far, feedback shows that the program is working. Metro no longer needs El Monte’s overflow parking lot, while, at least anecdotally, there has been little change to ridership. El Monte’s experience mirrors what has happened when free parking was converted to paid parking at other high-demand Metro lots.

In today’s podcast Ching discusses the Park-and-Ride program in El Monte and at Metro rail stations across the county. He also explains some of what is in store for the future of Metro’s Park-and-Ride lots and reveals some near-term tweaks that could be coming to the El Monte Bus Station parking lot.

SGV Connect is supported by Foothill Transit, offering car-free travel throughout the San Gabriel Valley with connections to the new Gold Line Stations across the Foothills and Commuter Express lines traveling into the heart of downtown L.A. To plan your trip, visit Foothill Transit. “Foothill Transit. Going Good Places.”

(While Foothill Transit is mentioned in this podcast, they were not involved in the content for the podcast in any way.)

Catch past episodes of SGV Connect and #DamienTalks on LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Overcast.