Structured parking runs about $29,000 to $99,000 per space to build, before land, across 17 U.S. cities (UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, February 2026). Even at the bottom of that range, a space that adds one daily rider is one of the most expensive riders an agency can buy. Cost per boarding is the binding constraint on transit parking.
Transit agencies own park-and-ride lots, station garages, and increasingly mobility hubs that combine parking with shared mobility, EV charging, and drop-off. The pattern repeats across systems: free park-and-ride fills before 8 a.m., which means it rations spaces by wake-up time and works against the agency's own demand-management goals. The asphalt itself sits on some of the most transit-accessible land in the region, the exact parcels transit-oriented development competes for. And first and last mile service is often a cheaper way to bring a rider to the platform than a structured space.
Three questions carry the money. Whether to price lots that fill by dawn, and what pricing would do to ridership. Whether the next capital dollar buys more boardings as parking or as first and last mile service. And whether a park-and-ride parcel produces more riders as a garage or as development. Each one is answerable with field data: occupancy by hour, fill time, cost per space, boardings per space.
Park-and-ride and station parking studies. Field occupancy counts by lot and by hour, fill-time patterns, duration profiles, and pricing scenarios modeled against ridership risk.
Technology procurement and delivery. Parking guidance, PARCS, and payment systems specified, procured, and project-managed with JDE as owner's representative between vendor, operator, and agency. JDE's installation practice spans 5,000+ lanes and $175M+ installed technology value.
Asset strategy. Park-and-ride weighed against first and last mile and against transit-oriented development, framed as cost per boarding so a board compares like with like.
Revenue control and operations. Audits and operations assessments for agency-owned garages and lots, with findings carried into action plans at 30, 90, and 180 days.
Occupancy by hour and by day, fill time, duration patterns, cost per space, and boardings per space. The output is a decision set: price, expand, shrink, or redevelop, each with the ridership math attached.
A lot that fills before 8 a.m. is already rationed. The only question is by what. Free rations by arrival time. Pricing rations by value, recovers cost, and can fund first and last mile service that adds more boardings than it prices off. The study sets the number. The agency sets the policy.
When the parcel produces more daily riders as housing and jobs than as parking, at lower public cost. With structured spaces running about $29,000 to $99,000 each before land (UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies, 2026), the comparison is worth running. Compute cost per boarding both ways and let the parcel argue for itself.
What does a boarding cost from each park-and-ride? One study answers it, lot by lot. Contact JDE.