Parking at Metro is easier than ever with pay stations and mobile payment options

No more searching for spare change to pay at Metro parking meters. New centralized pay stations and ParkMobile® are now available at all of Metro’s 63 Kiss & Ride and hourly lots and on-street parking spaces, expanding the ways customers can pay.

Metro’s Park & Ride facilities make it easy for customers to travel to work, school, or other activities. You can park your car and ride without the hefty parking fees. On weekends, all Metro owned parking facilities are free and with a $2 weekend flat fare for any one-way trip, using Metro is an even better bargain.

“It can be frustrating to park at a meter and realize you don’t have enough change but that’s not a problem anymore. We’ve gotten rid of the meters and modernized our parking to make your trip on Metro as easy and convenient as possible,” said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke. “For many people, their phone is their wallet. You can still use coins at pay stations, but if you prefer the ease of using ParkMobile on your phone or a credit card at a pay station you now have that option too.”

The transition to pay-by-phone options and pay stations is part of Metro’s fare modernization and customer initiatives to make #YourMetro better. Parking usage is on the rise, up 50 percent over last year. This corresponds with increasing rail ridership, up nearly 50 percent from last year at 384,000 average weekday trips. On weekends, average rail ridership is now 90 percent or better than pre-pandemic levels.

Metro removed approximately 3,000 meters and installed 60 centralized pay stations, to allow customers to pay for hourly parking spaces with greater ease and convenience. Phasing out the individual meters and moving to centralized pay stations also decreases maintenance costs and provides more thorough data to Metro about parking revenue and usage.

ParkMobile and pay stations are available for short-term parking lots and spaces only. Metro is also exploring license plate recognition technology at our 48 Park & Ride garages and lots to charge for overnight and multi-day parking. Currently customers can pay for daily parking with their SmarTrip card or a credit card.

Before you go, you can also check to see if a garage is full, using real-time parking availability. Information is available at wmata.com/parking.

The addition of ParkMobile and centralized pay stations for Kiss & Ride lots also offers greater flexibility with two ways to pay:

• ParkMobile provides an easy, convenient option to pay-by-phone at any of Metro’s hourly spaces using the ParkMobile app or by calling 877-727-5758.
  • Simply download the ParkMobile app, enter the “Zone Number” and “Space Number” identified on the nearest parking sign, and select the amount of time you plan to park for. With ParkMobile, customers can even extend their parking time remotely. A ParkMobile service fee will apply.
• Pay Stations: Using the unique space number on the ParkMobile signage, customers are also able to pay with coins or with credit cards at the pay stations. These pay stations are found at convenient, central locations in the Kiss & Ride Lots.
  • At Medical Center, Tenleytown, and Deanwood, customers use their license plate number instead of a space number via ParkMobile or the pay stations.

Metro first introduced ParkMobile at Vienna, Rockville and Fort Totten stations as a pilot program in 2019 and expanded the ParkMobile option to meters at all stations in 2020.

Last year with an increase in the use of ParkMobile, Metro began phasing out meters and installing centralized pay stations at all Kiss & Ride Lots. Expansion to the rest of the system is now complete.

Metro is committed to enhancing the end-to-end customer experience by continuing to upgrade our facilities to be user-friendly and attractive for customers. These new features give Metro customers more ways than ever to park, pay, and get where they need to go.

For more information visit wmata.com/parking.