¶ … New payment system for parking near MBTA
The benefits of the new proposal for a pre-paid monthly scanned parking pass are twofold: it will make commuting to the city easier for regular commuters and also result in revenue increases for the city. Because of increased the ease of parking cars, more commuters will be willing to use public transportation, and there will be less congestion and pollution overall, indirectly improving the situation for all residents and pedestrians in the city.
Commuters will like the plan because it will better ensure them of a regular parking spot. It will save time in the morning, since presumably many people must rise early, just to ensure that they have time to pay for parking. In today's cashless society, the use of prepaid parking spots via a monthly pass ensures that commuters do not need to fumble with cash and coins to pay a parking fee. After a long, hard day at work they do not have to worry about finding...
They will have more of an incentive to use public transportation, resulting in less time wasted in their car, and potentially less damage to their cars riding in heavy traffic.
The city is assured of revenue, and can more easily budget its influx of cash on a monthly basis, since it will have a better idea of how much money it will receive in parking fees. It can potentially save money based upon less traffic in city streets, since accidents and congestion requires traffic police to manage the flow of cars. It can also gain revenue from increased use of the MBTA by happy customers able to park their cars.
The detriments are that commuters must pay a monthly fee, even if they do not use the MBTA's services every day. For occasional commuters, there is less of a savings. Also, many people may want to drive directly to work, given that this gives them more control over when they come and go. A commuter via the subway or a…
