New to park and ride (to buy, bus, ticket)

[JL]

I will be using park and ride for the first time next month to get to work. Do i need to purchase a ticket or just pay as i get on the bus? If purchase in advance required, where is the most convenient place to buy? Also, is the place to park pretty safe(security gates, cameras, etc. ?)? Are the bus hours pretty flexible since i work at 9am till 7pm? What about finding bus routes and dropoffs/pickups? My employer will be reimbursing for this also. Thanks.

[mpgerma]

you can either pay cash (exact change) or buy a Q card (they sell them at Kroger among many other places). I go for the Q card since it is like a debit card....you can put for example $50 on it and each time you swipe it, it'll deduct the fare. While the park and rides do have cameras, fences, etc..nothing is perfectly secure. don't leave anything visible on your dash, seats, etc. lock the doors, etc. Bus hours are flexible. At my park and ride, the last bus leaves at 9am for downtown. In the evenings the last normal bus is at 7pm, then they have a 730, 830, and finally 930 bus, but they stop at a few extra stops making the ride about 15-20 minutes longer. Check out ridemetro.org for more details about park and ride locations and bus schedules.