Amtrak now offers prepaid reserved parking

Paulus · Jan 5, 2015

You already have your ticket. Now make your trip with Amtrak even easier with a guaranteed parking spot.

Find, reserve, and pay for guaranteed parking at select Amtrak locations across the nation, powered by Parking Panda. Simply search for your station and then compare real-time parking prices and available locations for your selected location. Upon purchase, you will receive a confirmation by email that will serve to guarantee entry to your selected location and also serves as payment. Space will be set aside at your selected parking location to ensure that your parking is guaranteed and hassle-free, even if the lot or garage otherwise reaches capacity. Park smarter today with Amtrak and Parking Panda!

seat38a · Jan 5, 2015

I just played with it and find it funny that they don't list the parking at LAUS at the station for only $6.00 a day. Its in a garage and patrolled by Metro / Sheriff. I'd feel more safer parking down there than some of the options its showing. Many of the choices are outside and cost a lot more than parking at the station.

sportbiker · Jan 5, 2015

seat38a said:
I just played with it and find it funny that they don't list the parking at LAUS at the station for only $6.00 a day. Its in a garage and patrolled by Metro / Sheriff. I'd feel more safer parking down there than some of the options its showing. Many of the choices are outside and cost a lot more than parking at the station.

Yeah, that is strange. I sent a "contact us" message asking what's up. If I get a reply, I'll post it here.

TinCan782 · Jan 5, 2015

seat38a said:
I just played with it and find it funny that they don't list the parking at LAUS at the station for only $6.00 a day. Its in a garage and patrolled by Metro / Sheriff. I'd feel more safer parking down there than some of the options its showing. Many of the choices are outside and cost a lot more than parking at the station.

The $6 per day is hard to beat. We use it for our LD trips. No need for reservations although, we do register for longer trips.

BCL · Jan 5, 2015

All the options seem to be private parking lots/garages and hotel garages. Some locations are over a mile from the associated station. It doesn't seem like any of the options are actually attached to the stations (which Amtrak typically don't own).

It sounds like Amtrak is just lending it's name and logo for marketing purposes.

My original thought was that this might be like BART's "long term" parking that's primarily for passengers taking BART to airports. Although they work through a parking service, the actual parking is at the normal BART parking lots and garages.

Anderson · Jan 6, 2015

The issue with LAUS may well be that Amtrak doesn't own the lot (I think LA Metro does)...so it may be that Metro is being a bit uncooperative. Also, it seems to be restricted to places where Parking Panda already operates, which is probably limiting their ability to deal with some other places (such as RVR) where they own the station. Basically this is Amtrak working with someone who already has an app to use that app and plug in the coordinates of a bunch of stations. It isn't a bad idea...but the apparent non-listing of known station lots in Chicago, Washington, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles makes one scratch their head.

SarahZ · Jan 6, 2015

We always use SpotHero when we drive to Chicago. We've found parking lots near our hotel for as little as $3/day (regular price is often $18/day or higher). Plus, they send us coupons via email almost every time we utilize them.