- Parking lot utilization and revenue generated does not correlate directly with commuter rail ridership. However, a correlation between lot utilization and revenue generation does exist. As utilization increased between 2012-2014, so did parking revenue, despite a decline in ridership. - A correlation between parking facility utilization and commuter rail ridership may exist at stations located 40-50 miles from Boston that serve as regional transit hubs, like Middleboro and South Attleboro. - Factors like parking fees, economic conditions, and total commute costs all likely contributed to declines in both ridership and parking lot utilization after 2009 fee increases. Further study is needed to understand these relationships.

1. 177 Tremont Street Boston, MA
Phone: 617-426-6054 Fax: 617-451-2054
Info@mbtaadvisoryboard.org mgensler@mbtaadvisoryboard.org
Analysis of revenue generated from MBTA commuter rail parking facilities
In 2014, members of MBTA Advisory Board asked staff to examine use at and revenue generated from
commuter rail parking lots. Members expressed concern whether the declining commuter rail ridership
was caused by the impact of increased parking fees, how much revenue the lots generate and how much
the increased fees generated. In particular, they wondered how much revenue lots operated by MBTA
generate for MBTA. Currently, MBTA operates parking lots at 71 of its 138 commuter rail stations. The
question of whether or not a correlation exists between parking revenue, parking fees, and daily boards
(ridership) was also raised.
Advisory Board members first brought up the relationship between parking and transit use in 2010. Parking
fees at MBTA parking facilities increased in 2009. At that time, members questioned whether or not
increased parking fees had an impact on MBTA ridership. Advisory Board staff was asked to analyze parking
facility use. Members wanted staff to take the total cost of commute (parking fee + fare) into account.
In 2010, Advisory Board staff found that as utilization declined, revenue generated remained steady. The
number of drivers paying parking fees declined, but because the fee per vehicle increased, overall revenue
generated increased. Advisory board staff suspected that in 2010, MBTA parking lot use decreased partly
because of a fee increase, and also due to poor economic conditions. A comparison to commuter rail
ridership was not made at this time.
The MBTA hires a contractor to maintain, remove snow, and collect fees from the lots it operates. Other
commuter rail lots are owned by municipalities or regional transit authorities (RTAs). In Woburn, Massport
manages parking at Anderson Regional Transportation Center. Daily rates at MBTA commuter rail lots are
$4; the only exception is Route 128, which is $7.
Ridership on MBTA commuter rail has declined in recent years while other commuter rail systems have
seen increases. MBTA commuter rail ridership decreased 2% between FY 2012 and FY 2013. Other legacy
commuter rail systems, such as Long Island Rail Road, Metro North Railroad, Chicago’s Metra, and
Philadelphia’s SEPTA have seen 1% to 2% increases in ridership during this period. MBTA Advisory Board
members wonder whether or not parking is partly responsible for MBTA’s ridership decrease. It appears
that increased parking fees at MBTA commuter rail parking lots contributed significantly to the 2% decrease
in ridership. No increase in parking fee ($4) was found at sample stations between 2009 and 2013. Revenue
generated from these facilities increased between 2009 and 2013.
According to the MBTA “blue book” on ridership and service statistics, weekday inbound commuter rail
boards have declined steadily since FY 2009, with the exception of FY 2012. Weekday ridership increased
less than 1% from FY 2011 to FY 2012, from 130,375 boards to 131,161. The last significant increase in
commuter rail ridership occurred in FY 2009, when boards increased almost 6% from FY
2008 (138,928 to 146,961). Several factors not related to parking may have contributed to this increase and
subsequent decrease.

2. 2
Methodology
MBTA Advisory Board staff selected six commuter rail stations as samples, three on the north side and
three on the south side: Abington, Andover, Brandeis/Roberts, Middleboro/Lakeville, Reading, and South
Attleboro. These stations have the same parking fee ($4) and each saw a 25% decrease in utilization
between Central Transportation Planning Staff (CTPS) inventories in 2005-2006 and 2009-2010.
Sample Stations:
1 Abington
2 Andover
3 Brandeis/Roberts
4 Middleboro/Lakeville
5 Reading
6 South Attleboro
After selecting sample stations, staff looked at parking revenue and utilization data obtained from MBTA
for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. This information was compared to the CTPS inventories and
commuter rail boarding statistics. Boarding statistics were taken from MBTA’s 2014 “blue book”, which
collected commuter rail data on weekday inbound trains in April 2013.
Utilization Analysis
The MBTA Parking Services office maintains data on MBTA-operated lot utilization for each fiscal year.
Parking Services tracks the total number of vehicles parked at each facility, daily average, and percent
utilized for each month. It also lists the revenue generated from each facility by month and total fiscal year.
Advisory Board staff reviewed data from Parking Services for fiscal years 2012, 2013, and 2014. Fiscal year
2013 saw a 3% increase in overall utilization, from 66% in FY 2012 to 68% in FY 2013. This period also saw a
5% increase in gross revenue generated from MBTA-operated parking facilities. Alone, commuter rail
facilities operated by MBTA (including the Route 128 station facility shared with Amtrak) generated
$15,346,108 in FY 2013. This is a 5% increase from these lots generated in FY 2012 ($14,618,221). Weekday
commuter rail ridership decreased by almost 2% during this time. It appears a correlation between parking
revenue generated and commuter rail boards does not exist.
The total cost of commute affected those riders who had travel options other than commuter rail. Riders
who were dependent on commuter rail did not take total cost of commute into account, continuing to park
and ride the commuter rail. This is especially true of stations farther from Boston, such as
Middleboro/Lakeville (41 miles) and South Attleboro (42.5 miles). South Attleboro, for example, saw 1,462
weekday inbound boards in April 2013. Its 568-space lot, operated by MBTA, was 93% utilized during this
month.
Commuter rail ridership exceeds the number of spaces available at the six MBTA lots examined. In South
Attleboro, the number of passengers boarding commuter trains on weekday mornings is almost double the

3. 3
number of spaces available. This indicates that there is no correlation between number of parking spaces
available and commuter rail boards. In FY 2014, 94% of the available spaces at South Attleboro were
occupied. This utilization finding shows that a significant number of passengers drive alone to this particular
station. The high utilization rate along with a high number of boards at South Attleboro shows that there is
a correlation between parking lot utilization and commuter rail boards at this station.
The difference between the available parking spaces and the number of boards shows that a significant
number of passengers either carpool or access South Attleboro by another mode. Commuters may choose
not to park at a station to reduce the total cost of their commute. At Middleboro, ridership (886 inbound
boards) and parking availability (769 spaces) is more even. This suggests that the number of parking spaces
at Middleboro may have been forecasted based on ridership statistics. 55% of these spaces were occupied
in FY 2014, indicating a significant amount of commuters are willing to include parking in their total cost of
commute. This lot was 76% used in 2009, indicating a 38% decrease in utilization.
Utilization rates at regional collector facilities are higher than those at other lots in the commuter rail
system. These are facilities that are located at the end of commuter rail or rapid transit lines that enable
automobile trips from outer suburbs to transit service. Enabling these automobile trips subsequently
generates commuter rail or rapid transit trips. Middleboro and South Attleboro are both regional collector
parking facilities.
Revenue Analysis
The chart above shows an increase in parking revenue generated by the six sample stations between FY
2012 and FY 2014. Based on the data from Parking Services, gross revenue generated from MBTA-operated
commuter rail lots has increased slightly ($14,618,221 in FY 2012 to $15,931,165 in FY 2014, roughly 7%).
This is in contrast to the 2% loss in commuter rail ridership experienced between FY 2012 and FY 2013,
mentioned in the utilization analysis. The contrast indicates that some commuters who continued to use
commuter rail during the decline in ridership chose to drive to the station, park there, and pay the higher
fee. Parking fees increased during FY 2009. This data shows that some commuters are willing to pay for
parking at commuter rail lots despite increased fees.
0
1,000,000
2,000,000
1 2 3 4 5 6
MBTA CR parking revenue generated
Revenue generated from sample station (FY 14)
Revenue generated from sample station (FY 13)
Revenue generated from sample station (FY 12)

4. 4
Summary/conclusions
The graph above shows the relationship between daily weekday ridership and the number of parking
spaces occupied at the six sample stations. In 2010, board members were concerned about the impact of a
parking fee increase on commuter rail service. In 2011, Advisory Board staff found that increased parking
fees were partly responsible for a decline in commuter rail ridership. In 2014, board members raised
questions about a correlation between parking lot utilization and revenue generation. Members want to
know whether or not commuter rail parking facilities operated by MBTA generate sufficient revenue for
MBTA.
Parking lot utilization and revenue generated does not correlate with commuter rail ridership. However, a
correlation between lot utilization and revenue generation does exist. Between FY 2012 and FY 2014, the
amount of parking revenue generated from MBTA commuter rail lots has increased. Simultaneously,
commuter rail inbound boards have decreased. A correlation between parking facility utilization and
commuter rail ridership may exist, however, at termini of lines located between 40 and 50 miles from
Boston, such as Middleboro and South Attleboro. Low lot utilization may be an indicator of low ridership at
stations indicating a low number of boards.
The table below shows the relationships examined and whether or not a correlation exists:
Lot Utilization & parking revenue generated correlation
Available spaces & ridership (# of boards) No correlation
ridership & parking revenue generated No correlation
Utilization & ridership (# of boards) Correlation at regional collectors (i.e. S.
Attleboro, Middleboro) only
Parking fee & revenue generated Correlation (utilization decrease)
Suggestions
625
519 437
886 799
1462
202
96 10
380
61
514
0
500
1000
1500
2000
Abington Andover Brandeis Middleboro Reading S Attleboro
Boards vs. spaces occupied
boardings (inboud weekday-2014 blue book)
avg. spaces occupied per day (T parking services FY 13)

5. 5
A correlation does not indicate causation. Generating revenue from commuter rail parking facilities is
important to MBTA. They view parking facilities as a steady source of revenue that could contribute to debt
service and other expenses. Also, a number of the parking facilities’ revenues were pledged in an effort to
balance the 2011 budget and MBTA needs to ensure that the lots generate enough revenue to cover the
debt service. This influences the size of new facilities, such as at stations on the Greenbush and Worcester
lines. When these lots are 50% or less full, the revenue anticipated by MBTA is not realized. Better
forecasting could enable MBTA to determine the appropriate size (number of spaces) for new parking
facilities. Forecasting for parking could allow MBTA to reduce potential revenue loss from parking facilities.
The dollar amount of revenue is much higher than the number of daily boards. Regarding utilization,
current data represents parking lot utilization as a percentage. This makes it difficult to compare to
ridership. Ridership is expressed as the number of passengers boarding, which is not a percentage.
Comparing the raw number of spaces available and/or occupied to boards is possible, but not every station
has the same number of spaces. Also, the number of available spaces indicates neither utilization nor
ridership. If each station had a lot with an equal number of spaces occupied, it would be possible to
directly compare the number of spaces occupied to ridership.
MBTA Advisory Board staff cannot say definitively what has impacted parking revenue generated without a
survey. Parking lot utilization and commuter rail ridership declined after a parking fee increase in 2009 as a
result of several factors. Ridership itself was negatively impacted by poor economic conditions. Less
ridership results in less lot utilization. Further study could develop a method to compare parking revenue
generated to commuter rail ridership.