HLSR & Metro ??

[Cope]

Monday night my daughter and her friend went to the Metro Light Rail Park and Ride lot at the South end of the rail line. In order to get in and park, they had to pay HSLR personnel $8 in addition to the $2 each to use the rail. How can HSLR charge a parking fee when they don't provide a shuttle? I emailed my city councel woman about this but haven't heard back.

[Steelsun]

We saw that when we were cruising the streets back there (Since I live near the SW corner of the loop - I often take the back streets there to avoid 610). I too saw the $8 lot fee and told my wife that was so "wrong".
Does Metro park & ride (or pillage and ride as it's sometimes called) always charge a parking fee? If not, then not only is it unethical for them to do so now, I would term it illegal (just like raising prices in an emergency).

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[BKing]

Is that parking lot inside the Reliant Stadium fenced-in parking area? Just wondering..

[Cope]

Originally Posted by Paraquat

I'd be very cautious about jumping to quick conclusions about 'illegalities', 'unethical' charges and alerting the City Council before you know the whole story.

First, the entire Show is geared toward Education and Youth. $8,000,000 in scholarships were awarded in 2006 ALONE. All proceeds from the Show after expenses are awarded in scholarships. This means that the goal of the Show is to GIVE 100% of the net proceeds away!

Secondly, anyone you pay to get into any parking lot is NOT HLS&R personnel. The Show is produced by 18,000 volunteers each year, donating hundreds of thousands of man hours of their own time so that $8,000,000 in money goes to scholarships, not salaries.

All parking lots operated for the Show are owned and operated by NON-Rodeo entities. The lots at Reliant Stadium (all of them) that charge for parking are owned by the Houston Sports Authority and Harris County. The Park and Ride lot you parked at was considered a satellite lot of Reliant Stadium - again, the County, NOT the HLS&R.

There are also some private lots that charge what they wish and neither the HLS&R nor the City can regulate what private lots charge.

The Park & Ride lots with bus service do not charge you to park, but do charge $4 per person for the round trip bus ride. The fee for riding the MetroRail is charged under the same basis as the buses at the Park and Ride lots.

Here is the verbatim pulic release about parking that is available on the HLS&R website (a simple search would have provided this same information in less time than it took to write to a City Council member):

"While there is no charge to park, round trip bus ticket prices for the the Aramco 9009, Delmar, Reed Road and METRO West Loop Park and Ride lots are the same as last year:

$4 for ages 13 and older
$2 for ages 3 to 12
free for ages 2 and younger

The Smithlands lot at the Medical Center is treated as a satellite lot to Reliant Park with a charge of $10 per car to park. Patrons then having the option to walk, ride the shuttle bus for free or pay $2 for a round trip ride to Reliant Park on METRORail. Show fans can also ride the METRORail to and from the Reliant Park Station with special Show hours. Park at METRO's Fannin South Park & Ride lot (Fannin at West Belfort) for just $7, or at one of several parking locations along the rail line for an additional fee. Take METRORail for $1 each way or $2 roundtrip. For convience, purchase a $2 day pass and avoid the ticket line on your return."

The Show has been a mainstay in Houston since its formation in 1929 and the first Show in 1932. It has given over $100 Million in college scholarships since its inception and has entertained millions of Houstonians. The Show has taken an unfair amount of criticism this year from various sources and to read incorrect information being disseminated about parking fees put me in response mode.

Enjoy the Show, do some homework (knowledge is the key to life) and be glad that despite all the challenges it faces each year that the Show keeps on pumping out scholarships.

**stepping off soap box now**

I don't know where you get your incorrect information, but HSLR has a huge bank account, and they DO NOT give away all their net proceeds. Furthermore, the volunteers are still HSLR personnel. I am not giving out incorrect information, the HSLR did charge this fee on Metro property, and whether or not they do a good job, this is wrong. Whether or not it was posted on the HSLR site (I had looked and didn't see it earlier) I still contend it is wrong. What does HSLR say to medical Center and other employees who use the same park and ride lot daily? I am not opposed to the HSLR, but every year I see more abuses by some of the volunteers who give a black eye to the whole organization.

[Cope]

Originally Posted by BKing

Is that parking lot inside the Reliant Stadium fenced-in parking area? Just wondering..

The lot is at the South end of the Metro Light Rail near Fannin and W. Bellfort

[Cope]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

We saw that when we were cruising the streets back there (Since I live near the SW corner of the loop - I often take the back streets there to avoid 610). I too saw the $8 lot fee and told my wife that was so "wrong".
Does Metro park & ride (or pillage and ride as it's sometimes called) always charge a parking fee? If not, then not only is it unethical for them to do so now, I would term it illegal (just like raising prices in an emergency).

No, there is no fee to park there, just as there is no fee at any other park and ride UNLESS you pay a fee to use one of the HSLR shuttle busses, but you still park free.

[Cope]

What I saw on their website Monday:
NOTE: There are no parking lot fees only the cost of riding the bus or METRORail, except for the Smithlands Park and Ride lot at the Medical Center, which is a satellite lot to Reliant Park with a charge of $10 per car to park. Patrons have the option to ride the shuttle bus for free or pay $2 for a round trip ride to Reliant Park on METRORail.

then I scrolled down to bottom of the page today:
METRORail



For $1 each way or a $2 day pass, ride the METRORail to and from the Reliant Park Station with special Show hours so you don’t miss any of the fun. Park at METRO’s Fannin South Park & Ride lot (Fannin at West Belfort) for just $7 or at one of several parking locations along the rail line for an additional fee and take METRORail for just $2 roundtrip.

Purchase a $2 Day Pass and avoid the ticket line on your return.


Soomeone told me on another forum that there is always a parking fee at the South park and ride, but I drove out there a month ago to pick someone up, and saw no ticket takers, and I parked in a space waiting for the train to arrive.

[kenw]

realize also that there were cases at GRB of folks just standing at the entrance to a vacant lot and taking $10 from anyone who drove up. Cash only....

When the cops approach, they get scarce. They had no connection to the city, GRB or the lot owner. They just saw an opportunity to make some quick $$, and folks had no way to tell they were't legit. And sometimes, when the owners found out, all those people who had paid $10 to park got towed anyway!

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[boxofrocks]

ooh, snap!

[Steelsun]

Originally Posted by Cope

No, there is no fee to park there, just as there is no fee at any other park and ride UNLESS you pay a fee to use one of the HSLR shuttle busses, but you still park free.

Yes there was. The permanant sign said "Metro Park & Ride" and is the official lot for Metro at the south end of teh rail line (behind Sam's).
The temp sign said "Parking $8" and the entrance was manned by people in day glow vests and collecting money. I do not know if they are Metro employees or contractors or HLSR employees or volunteers (yes HLSR has some employees). But they are charging to park in a Metro lot.

I'll swing by in the next coupld of days and take pics.

[Cope]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

Yes there was. The permanant sign said "Metro Park & Ride" and is the official lot for Metro at the south end of teh rail line (behind Sam's).
The temp sign said "Parking $8" and the entrance was manned by people in day glow vests and collecting money. I do not know if they are Metro employees or contractors or HLSR employees or volunteers (yes HLSR has some employees). But they are charging to park in a Metro lot.

I'll swing by in the next coupld of days and take pics.

During all this back and forth, I went back to the HSLR/park & ride link. The first paragraph says the only parking charge is at the lot just North of Reliant, but down at the bottom of the page it says that there is a charge at the Fannin/W. Bellfort location. I wonder who hets the cash, and if you are a med. center or downtown worker, do you have to pay the fee? Don't worry about pictures, I only live 6 miles West of there, I can see for my self, but I will save gas and take your word for it.

[Steelsun]

You gotta be living pretty close to me :D
(Westbury area)

[Cope]

Originally Posted by Steelsun

You gotta be living pretty close to me :D
(Westbury area)

Maplewood South, just North of you.