BART enhances "EZ Rider" card with parking payment option
New technology makes parking more convenient for EZ Riders
BART riders will soon have a new, high-tech, easier way to pay for their parking. The BART Board approved the “EZ Rider Parking Program.” It's aimed at establishing a more customer-friendly system for drivers who park and then ride BART by allowing them to use EZ Rider smartcards to pay for parking as well as their BART fares. Orinda will be the first station featuring EZ Rider parking with a scheduled start date of Monday, November 10, 2008.
“With the EZ Rider card, riders who pay daily parking fees will no longer need to fumble for dollar bills, insert tickets at an Addfare Machine or worry about remembering their stall numbers,” BART Board President Gail Murray said. “Riders who park at BART will have the same ‘touch and go’ convenience that 33,000 EZ Rider smartcard users already have.”
The current EZ Rider program was established in 2006 to provide BART riders with a convenient and safe way to pay for train fares. “Customers love the program because, much like FasTrak, they always have money on their EZ Rider card as it's tied to their credit card,” Murray said. The EZ Rider Parking Program option was suggested by EZ Rider users who sought a speedier way to validate parking. The program includes the installation of special Parking Validation Machines (PVM) that will be phased in at the 15 stations where customers pay to park, beginning in November 10 through December 15, 2008.
EZ Rider Parking Program
Information regarding the EZ Rider Parking Program can be found at the BART EZ Rider website, https://ezrider.bart.gov and passengers can register for the parking program beginning November 3. Once registered for the program, a passenger will receive a parking hangtag and/or an EZ Rider card (if you are not already an EZ Rider customer). This system enables the BART rider to park in any daily fee parking space, go to an EZ Rider PVM, touch the EZ Rider card to the PVM reader and then proceed to the platform. “With a touch of your card, your hangtag number is activated for the day,” Murray added. “The technology generates a daily list of all hangtag numbers that are validated. BART Police staff will print out this list before they start their enforcement activities.”
Signing up for the EZ Rider Parking Program will be free through January 31, 2009. Beginning February 1, people registering for the program will be assessed a $5.00 fee for the EZ Rider card and $2.00 fee for the hangtag. The same fees will apply for lost or damaged cards or hangtags.
The first station to impelement the program is Orinda, with a scheduled start date of November 10. Over the next two months, parking validation machines will be phased in at 14 other stations. Below is a list of stations that will accept the EZ Rider card for parking payments and the dates scheduled for when you will be able to start using the card. We recommend that you check back at this site to confirm the start dates for your station in case of any unforeseen delays to the schedule.
November 10: Orinda
November 17: Lafayette and Walnut Creek
November 24: Lake Merritt, Fruitvale and West Oakland
December 1: North Berkeley, Ashby and El Cerrito Plaza
December 8: Rockridge, MacArthur and Fremont
December 15: Daly City, Colma and Dublin/Pleasanton