Metrorail parking in garage (Miami, South Miami: college, live, cost)

[noobcollege]

I know that to park at one of those garages it cost $4. My question is, its $4 for the day, so if you come back and drive away before the day ends, then will someone else be able to park in that spot since its already paid? technically what I ask is how do they know you came back after you paid and drove away so that they can reset it.

Another thing, have any of you guys ever gotten your car towed if you didn't pay the $4?

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by noobcollege

I know that to park at one of those garages it cost $4. My question is, its $4 for the day, so if you come back and drive away before the day ends, then will someone else be able to park in that spot since its already paid? technically what I ask is how do they know you came back after you paid and drove away so that they can reset it.

Another thing, have any of you guys ever gotten your car towed if you didn't pay the $4?

You enter the number of the parking spot into the machine when you pay for your parking ticket. It's my understanding that this information is available to the Metrorail Security folks so they know that the spot has been paid for the day- there is no limit on the time of parking like there is in a meter. You don't put in any details, such as the make and model of your car so as far as security is concerned, it doesn't matter whose car is parked there, or whether it's the first, second, or third car that occupies that space for the day, the parking fee was paid by the first car. They'd probably be happy to get that same $4.00 fee from the second and third car for that space too, but I don't think it would make any difference if they didn't do so. I guess it's possible that security has a way to monitor when spots are vacated, but it would depend, I believe, on physical trips through the garage to monitor parking spaces,and I'm not sure how often they do this. It would also require physical trips to visually determine that a car parked in a given spot has a monthly parking pass ( and thus didn't pay the $4) and not just someone who figured he'd get away with not paying at all.

You could take your chances and not pay for a spot if you arrive later in the day ( most Metro travelers travel around rush hour times), and figure your spot is a choice one that was used and vacated before you got there, and paid for by that user, but there's no way to know if that was the case. Or it could have been used and vacated by a regular Metro Rail rider who has a parking pass on the rear view mirror. So that spot wouldn't show as paid, and a car without a parking pass there could and likely would be ticketed. I'm guessing that if you left a spot you paid for earlier in the day,and returned later and parked there, it'd be fine because you paid for it earlier. You can't return the next day and expect that it's still paid for, I'm assuming all this information is reset when they close the parking garages at around midnight (or is it 11PM?)

I don't know about towing, I do know the security guards issue tickets for cars that haven't paid for parking. My husband was a regular Metrorail user when we lived and worked in Miami, and there was one time that he was issued a ticket for parking in an area on the very top of the garage that was not
a designated parking spot. He said there were no other spots available, and this was out of the way-not blocking anything, close to other occupied spots but didn't have a number on it-but no "no parking" signs either. He had a monthly parking pass displayed on his rearview mirror and took issue with the parking ticket he got. He got nowhere talking to Metrorail administrators, and finally took it to court. Where it was dismissed by the judge who said it was stupid to ticket someone under those circumstances.

[noobcollege]

Originally Posted by Travelassie

You enter the number of the parking spot into the machine when you pay for your parking ticket. It's my understanding that this information is available to the Metrorail Security folks so they know that the spot has been paid for the day- there is no limit on the time of parking like there is in a meter. You don't put in any details, such as the make and model of your car so as far as security is concerned, it doesn't matter whose car is parked there, or whether it's the first, second, or third car that occupies that space for the day, the parking fee was paid by the first car. They'd probably be happy to get that same $4.00 fee from the second and third car for that space too, but I don't think it would make any difference if they didn't do so. I guess it's possible that security has a way to monitor when spots are vacated, but it would depend, I believe, on physical trips through the garage to monitor parking spaces,and I'm not sure how often they do this. It would also require physical trips to visually determine that a car parked in a given spot has a monthly parking pass ( and thus didn't pay the $4) and not just someone who figured he'd get away with not paying at all.

You could take your chances and not pay for a spot if you arrive later in the day ( most Metro travelers travel around rush hour times), and figure your spot is a choice one that was used and vacated before you got there, and paid for by that user, but there's no way to know if that was the case. Or it could have been used and vacated by a regular Metro Rail rider who has a parking pass on the rear view mirror. So that spot wouldn't show as paid, and a car without a parking pass there could and likely would be ticketed. I'm guessing that if you left a spot you paid for earlier in the day,and returned later and parked there, it'd be fine because you paid for it earlier. You can't return the next day and expect that it's still paid for, I'm assuming all this information is reset when they close the parking garages at around midnight (or is it 11PM?)

I don't know about towing, I do know the security guards issue tickets for cars that haven't paid for parking. My husband was a regular Metrorail user when we lived and worked in Miami, and there was one time that he was issued a ticket for parking in an area on the very top of the garage that was not
a designated parking spot. He said there were no other spots available, and this was out of the way-not blocking anything, close to other occupied spots but didn't have a number on it-but no "no parking" signs either. He had a monthly parking pass displayed on his rearview mirror and took issue with the parking ticket he got. He got nowhere talking to Metrorail administrators, and finally took it to court. Where it was dismissed by the judge who said it was stupid to ticket someone under those circumstances.

Thank you for that reply. Just one more thing, i don't know if you know. You said the garages closes at midnight or 11pm, im pretty sure its midnight. So if I pay the $4 and leave the car overnight, will it get towed or ticketed? and what if I had like a monthly pass and I wanted to retrieve my car at like 2-3 in the morning, can i do it?

[Travelassie]

Originally Posted by noobcollege

Thank you for that reply. Just one more thing, i don't know if you know. You said the garages closes at midnight or 11pm, im pretty sure its midnight. So if I pay the $4 and leave the car overnight, will it get towed or ticketed? and what if I had like a monthly pass and I wanted to retrieve my car at like 2-3 in the morning, can i do it?

Well, I asked my husband, the former Metrorail guru, and he says the last trains stop running around midnight, depending on the location, but the parking garages don't close. So he says you could pick up your car at any time after midnight. He mentioned that he's seen a car or two parked in one spot for several days, with no tickets on them and obviously not towed. He thought one car even looked suspicious because it was there for several weeks. I'd think that if you left your car there for more than one day, and didn't have a parking pass, you could be ticketed for not paying for the spot on those additional days, but if you had a monthly parking pass, they wouldn't ticket your car.

[hurricaneMan1992]

With a monthly pass you can leave your car overnight for up to a month at South Miami, Earlington Heights, and Okeechobee stations. It's mainly a perk for monthly pass passengers going to the airport. I would hope those stations garages don't close, in case your return flight is late and you had to take a cab to get your car.