Parking fees to rise at MacArthur, West Oakland stations July 29

The daily fee parking charge will increase on July 29, 2013 at MacArthur to $1.50 and at West Oakland to $5.50. This is a 50¢ increase from the current daily fee of $1 at MacArthur and of $5 at West Oakland. The current fee had been in effect at West Oakland since 2005 and at MacArthur since 2006.

Earlier this year, the BART Board made changes to how fees are set for paid parking. The new paid parking fees will be based on parking use at each station. Every 6 months, parking lot use will be measured. If the lot at a station is full, then the daily parking fee may increase by 50¢. If the lot is less than 95% full, then the fee will decrease by 50¢. The daily parking fee will not go above $3 at any station except West Oakland. Single Day, Monthly and Airport/Long-Term reserved parking permits are covered by this new policy and will change by the same amount as the daily fee. Monthly reserved parkers will be contacted directly when rates change. Any change in parking fees will remain in effect for at least 6 months. All money made from these new fees will go to programs for improved station access, rehabilitation, and modernization.

Here are 3 ways to pay for your daily parking fee:

1. Clipper card: Sign up in advance at www.BART.gov/parking to link your Clipper card to a hang tag for your car, and then you simply tag the card inside the paid area at a Parking Validation Machine. There is no need to remember your stall number or pay cash on a daily basis.

2. Cash: Once inside the faregates, enter the stall number from your parking space into an Add Fare Machine, pay in cash, and save your receipt.

3. Blue Tickets: Once inside the faregates, enter your blue paper ticket into the Add Fare Machine, enter the stall number from your parking space, and save your receipt. You may only pay with a BART blue ticket if you have entered the faregates with this same ticket.