FAQ | LA Express Park™

How do you use these smart meters?
How to use an on-street single-space meters:

How to use an off-street multi-space meters:
What is the purpose of the LA Express Park™ program?
- The purpose of the program is to use technology to increase the availability of limited parking spaces, reduce traffic congestion and air pollution, and encourage the use of alternative modes of transportation.
- Goals:
  - Reduce the time spent on parking
    - If the purpose of technology is to save users time, then, by extension, the purpose of parking technology must be to save motorists time when parking
  - Optimize the flow of traffic
    - Maximize utilization of existing infrastructure and
    - Simultaneously optimize traffic flow
  - Achieve 10% to 30% availability
    - Establish a baseline for and track utilization and update pricing as appropriate in order to reduce demand at over-occupied areas, and increase demand on underutilized blocks
Where is the program area?
- The program area currently includes Downtown, Westwood, Hollywood, and Venice. View specific area maps.
  
  View the data
Will parking fines change as a result of LA Express Park™?
- No. Parking fines are set by ordinances passed by the City Council. LA Express Park™ has no authority to either raise or lower parking fines.
How will LADOT decide when meter rates should change?
- A key component of LA Express Park™ is use of demand based pricing. Demand-based pricing attempts to set the cost of parking in relation to demand. Using the demand-based pricing strategy, meter rates increase when and where demand is highest while maintaining lower hourly rates in areas with less demand. LADOT will use information provided by in-ground vehicle detection sensors, along with rate, time limit and operating hour information from smart parking meters, to analyze demand for parking and adjust rates as appropriate. Any rate increase in the program area, however, shall be reasonable.
What if you are parking at a metered spot prior to enforcement hours?
- All parking meters in the LA Express Park project area are programmed with “prepay” if applicable to the parking policy of that space.
- Prepay is the ability to pay for a meter prior to enforcement hours and have your parking session begin from the start of enforcement hours. For example, if the space begins enforcement at 8am, but you arrive at 7am and would like to park until 9am. You may make a payment for 1 hour of parking and it will be applied towards 8am-9am if parking from 7am-8am is free and not restricted.
- Prepay is not an option if the space has “no parking” restrictions directly preceding enforcement hours. These include morning peak hour restrictions (i.e. “Tow Away No Stopping 7AM-9AM Mon-Fri”), Street Cleaning restrictions, and other “No Parking” restrictions.
Will the parking time limits change?
- In many areas, yes, that is a possibility. Parking behavior is a function of many things, including rates, hours of enforcement, and time limits. In order to achieve the goals of the LA Express Park™ program, it is important to consider all three of these components. LADOT has evaluated the time limits in all LA Express Park™ zones and has increased the limits at many spaces in the program area.
Will LADOT put meters in areas that do not have meters today as a result?
- While installation and removal of meters are part of the normal parking management process in any large municipal parking system, at this time there are no plans to add or remove any meters as part of the LA Express Park™ program.
Will the hours of operation for parking be extended?
- The City of Los Angeles is constantly evaluating the parking situation in the downtown area. This includes hours of operation, length of time allowed and rates.
Can I park in a space with a broken meter?
- A parking meter is only considered broken if it is unable to accept ANY type of payment (coins, credit cards, and app payment, where applicable). If the meter cannot accept any form of payment you may park at the meter without paying and will not receive a ticket. However, if the meter does accept coins while the credit card mechanism is broken, or credit cards while the coin mechanism is broken, you must pay using the working payment method or will be subject to ticketing. When parking at a broken meter, you will still be subject to the posted time limit. Staying beyond the posted time limit will be subject to ticketing.
What smartphone applications are used in the program and how do they work?
- Because the information and data from LA Express Park™ is available to anyone, a variety of useful and innovative applications have been, and will be, developed. Currently supported apps can be found on the Apps page. These apps are available to anyone and can be downloaded for free.
Do smartphone apps advocate texting and driving?
- No. The mobile app services act like a map, similar to in-vehicle navigation systems. The apps do not involve texting or interacting with the device while the car is in motion. The apps can be used at the start of one’s trip and by passengers. All of the interactive features – such as paying for parking, setting a timer to remind you when your meter has expired, or placing a pin on the map to remind you where you’ve parked – are functions used once a motorist has parked.
How will LA Express Park™ benefit people who can’t afford smart phones or credit cards?
- In planning for Express Park™, extensive consideration was given to providing the benefits of the project through a variety of means. For example:
  - Parking guidance is provided not only on smart phones, but will be available on street-side signs displaying key information for available parking spaces at select locations
  - Anyone with a phone can call 511 and receive real-time information on parking rates and availability within the LA Express Park™ area
  - A public web site includes all the tools available on smart phones and other mobile applications
  - While the enhanced payment options at the new meters include credit card payment capability, all meters still accept coins
Is the LA Express Park™ project just another excuse for the City to raise more revenue?
- No. Revenue was not a consideration in the decision to proceed with the LA Express Park™ program. In fact, in many areas the rates have been reduced to encourage parking at underutilized areas. Prior to the start of the program the average rate for all parking meters in the program area was $1.95 per hour. Currently the average rate in the program area is $1.76 per hour.
- The project goals are:
  - Increase number of available on-street parking spaces to be 10 to 30 percent per block
  - Reduce the number of cars “cruising” for parking by guiding drivers to available spots more quickly
  - Curb air pollution
  - Improve traffic flow for drivers and transit services
  - Encourage shift in personal travel choices to more efficient and economical transportation alternatives such as carpools, bicycling and mass transit
Has any other City ever done anything like this?
- There is a similar project in San Francisco, SFpark. There are also projects that use some, but not all of the components of LA Express Park™, such as Park Indy in Indianapolis. LA Express Park™, however, has several features, including parking guidance through the 511 interactive voice recognition phone system and on-street parking guidance signs, that are unique to Los Angeles.
How successful has the program been to date?
- LA Express Park™, a component of the Los Angeles Congestion Reduction Demonstration, started as a one-year pilot program created with $15 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation and $3.5 million in city funds. While a more comprehensive evaluation of the program is being performed by a consultant, results have thus far shown improvements in the utilization of parking resources downtown.
Now that LA Express Park™ has proven to be successful, what’s next for parking in LA?
- LA Express Park™ expanded into Westwood Village in 2014, Hollywood in 2015, and Venice in 2018. Occupancy sensors, smart meters, and wayfinding were installed in these areas to making finding parking easier and reduce congestion caused by vehicles searching for parking.
- LADOT is using the lessons learned and tools developed during the demonstration period to influence parking management decisions and improve the overall efficiency parking operations in the City of Los Angeles.