Starting next week, commuters who leave their vehicles at the South Surrey Park-and-Ride will need to make sure to pack $2 for the privilege.
The fee to park for the day – announced last year – kicks in Monday.
It remains unclear, however, exactly when a $4.5-million expansion to the lot will be ready for use.
TransLink spokesman Derek Zabel said this week the new lot – located on the west side of King George Boulevard, across from the main lot – is “nearly complete.”
“Once construction of the lot is complete and the licence agreement with the provincial government is completed, we will liaise with the provincial government to have the expanded lot open,” Zabel said by email.
The new lot will have space for an estimated 300 vehicles. The main lot holds about 480.
The new fees – including increases at some existing pay lots – are anticipated to generate $2.2 million. They were approved by TransLink’s board last October, with fees at each lot to “reflect the level of service and what we can do,” then-chair Nancy Olewiler said at the time.
The fees are also expected to give users of busy park-and-rides a better chance of finding a stall, by encouraging some drivers to leave their vehicles at home and catch a feeder bus instead.
Last year, overcrowding at the South Surrey lot led TransLink to begin towing incorrectly parked vehicles.
Zabel said there are no plans at this time to have fees at any of TransLink’s park-and-ride lots payable using the Compass Card.