SUV and Van Drivers Pay More for Parking In Cities

"Tom McParland" (tommcparland)
03/31/2014 at 09:12 • Filed to: Parlkinglopnik

According to a recent !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! article, a trend is growing in big cities like NYC, San Francisco, Boston etc...with limited parking, lots and hotels with valet/semi-valet service will charge more for larger vehicles such as vans and SUVs. Increased fees can range from a few dollars to 15-40 dollars over the cost of parking a sedan/compact.

Now many will argue that these rate hikes are fair because SUVs take up more space and it is indeed a "choice" to drive such a large vehicle. But this begs the question, for folks like my wife who have to drive a converted minivan, would such a surcharge be considered discrimination under the ADA? She doesn't have the option of driving a SMART car (which is about the size of her wheelchair).

DISCUSSION (24)

crowmolly > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:19

This has already been going on in NYC for a while if I remember correctly. I am not sure about the discrimination situation but it wouldn't surprise me if the parking companies didn't care.

duurtlang > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:20

Playing devil's advocate: One could argue your wife spends more on fuel than compact car owners as well.

Tom McParland > crowmolly
03/31/2014 at 09:22

The last time we visited NYC we did not get charged more than a passenger car, but we told the hotel what our situation was. Had it been a different lot with a different company, who knows.

STREPITUS > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:23

Stupid argument is stupid. A car is a car. You can't use limited parking as an argument because a 500 spot garage can hold 500 Explorers or 500 Mustangs. It can't suddenly increase capacity because you arrived in a smaller car - although I suppose if 500 NA Miatas showed up, you could probably squeeze a few extra cars in there.

Now it would make sense if they were charging extra for things like DRW F450s that are too wide to fit in one sport or if you showed up in a minibus.

Also, Autoblog reports that this is to reduce congestion. So shouldn't the charge be per number of occupants? I'd say a fully loaded 7 passenger Honda Odyssey is doing more to reduce congestion than me showing alone in my Miata.

And as far as the conversion van issue goes, I'm sure that would be an exception to the rule.

Tom McParland > duurtlang
03/31/2014 at 09:24

This is true, and more for insurance, and more for the vehicle itself compared to a non-converted van. 35k vs 60k. Being disabled sucks.

crowmolly > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:24

Well that's good. I always wondered if a special "ADA Card" could be issued for use at places like this.

Tom McParland > STREPITUS
03/31/2014 at 09:26

But the charge really isn't to reduce congestion, the charge is decided upon by the private owners of the garage not the city. Some garages can choose not to charge extra, some choose to charge extra.

Tom McParland > crowmolly
03/31/2014 at 09:26

Shouldn't need a card, the ramp on the van should be evidence enough. But I see what you are saying.

505Turbeaux > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:27

I restored an old econoline conversion for a quad buddy of mine some years ago. He was looking around and the prices for a new converted one were fairly shocking. I convinced the previous owner to just give us his 20 year old van and did all the work. Do you have a full size van or one of the Caravan conversions?

crowmolly > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:28

Yeah, I almost didn't want to imply that a card would be needed but people will do anything for cheaper parking. Shame that is the case.

Tom McParland > 505Turbeaux
03/31/2014 at 09:29

We have a Sienna conversion. Those full-sizers are crazy, before the Toyota she drove a Ford Windstar conversion, that was a piece of crap.

Yowen - not necessarily not spaghetti and meatballs > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:29

Funny thing is my '10 SHO probably has the same or larger footprint than some SUV's and maybe vans too, but I wouldn't pay extra? Nice.

505Turbeaux > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:31

lol those things were just straight junk anyhow. I caught myself looking lustfully at an Aerostar some time ago that was mint and very inexpensive. But that was a blip. I slept on the notion of actually driving it and decided I was temporarily insane

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:32

I used to do valet so I'll give my two cents.

Minivans were never really a pain in the ass. They may be relatively large but their vehicle dynamics make them relatively easy to park.

The only vehicles worthy of an "oversize" charge were half ton and larger pickups, yukons/suburbans, expeditions, and occasionally Sequoias. These things handle completely different and could get someone in serious trouble if they don't know what they are doing.

Tom McParland > Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)
03/31/2014 at 09:34

I think that is a fair assessment but I can see greedy garages up-charging minivans just because they can.

davedave1111 > STREPITUS
03/31/2014 at 09:50

Here (in London) it's not uncommon to find larger and smaller spaces in private car parks, and the larger ones are charged out at a higher rate. So it just seems completely normal to me.

Anywhere that doesn't have marked bays, they can definitely fit more smaller cars in.

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 09:52

I honestly think super/sports cars should get the additional charge. They are some of the hardest vehicles to park because you sat so low and couldn't see anything. Some examples:

There was a lotus espirit that I literally had to hang my body out the door while keeping my feet on the pedals to park the car.

The F430 scud was a blind leap of faith backing that out of a parking space. I could see nothing but black and ceiling out the back.

Nibby > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 10:01

It cost me $18 in a parking garage in Brooklyn for a few hours. My car is *just* under the height limit.

STREPITUS > davedave1111
03/31/2014 at 10:02

That makes sense. I've never seen a lot with variable spots widths (in one lot) here, so I'm still inclined to say that you should pay a flat rate if your car fits between the lines. My girlfriend's Jeep Cherokee is actually 10" narrower and 24" shorter than my Mustang, so it would be incredibly unfair if she had to pay more just because its an SUV.

Tom McParland > Biggus Dickus (RevsBro)
03/31/2014 at 10:03

I guess that is why so many of them are parked in the "premium spots" out front.

yamahog > STREPITUS
03/31/2014 at 10:05

Q: Where do you park a Jeep?

A: Wherever you want.

STREPITUS > yamahog
03/31/2014 at 10:07

Kinja'd!!!

Biggus Dickus (RevsBro) > Tom McParland
03/31/2014 at 10:17

Out in suburban areas that is OK, but downtown that usually resulted in the car getting ticketed (depends which parking enforcement person came by) so we often had no choice.

davedave1111 > STREPITUS
03/31/2014 at 22:48

Yeah, it makes no sense to charge more for SUVness instead of size. Here in London the real estate is worth more than the cars, and there are lots more superminis than you lot get, so it's unfair for people with tiny cars to end up paying the same as someone with an S-class - although generally they do anyway.