I have been using the South Surrey park-and-ride since it opened years ago. Recently, TransLink introduced pay parking. The cost is $2.
Personally, I don’t have a problem paying the $2 – if one could pay it.
As of Nov. 4, Impark now collects the $2 through two parking meters. This would be okay if the parking meters worked. I park daily in the lot, as do many others, and it is very frustrating to try make a payment. The following are the daily issues:
1). If the meter allows you to make the payment, it takes approximately five minutes to process the request. You don’t receive a receipt to prove you have paid. I have to leave 30 minutes earlier in the morning for the privilege of waiting in line to pay to use a spot.
2). You try to make a payment – it asks for $2. Put your toonie or two loonies in, and it continues to ask for $2 and will not give back the money you have already placed in it. This morning. I sunk six $2 coins into the machine and nothing happened.
3). Try calling the meter service number and put in the lot number. Apparently, the lot is not a recognized lot number.
So this morning I got really fed up and tried calling Impark. There is no customer service number. I waited on hold for the ticket payment office for five hours with no answer.
Finally I called TransLink. They are getting significant calls regarding the Impark service at this location. They are taking the information and trying to deal with Impark as well.
People are now just frustrated and are no longer paying for their parking as it seems impossible. I’m sure the next step for Impark will be to ticket all of us even though we have tried to be good citizens and pay for the service.
Not sure what to do next.
Allison Bourne