In the United States and Canada, park and ride (P&R) facilities have existed in one form or the other since mid-1920s. More recent public investment in P&R facilities is mainly a response to increasing global oil prices and an initiative by DOTs to provide alternative transportation services (facilitate the use of mass transit systems in particular). With the emergence of new technologies, innovative public-private partnerships and the need for ‘green transportation’, the role of P&R facilities is rapidly changing. In congested urban areas for instance, there is a growing interest from both public and private sectors to build and operate P&R facilities Park and Ride facilities.

Park and ride is but one of several tools available to transportation officials to solve specific transportation problems. To put it plainly, the transportation problem in parts of New York City and its surrounding areas is not lack of park and ride facilities but rather more fundamental issues such as cost of travel, traffic congestion, limited downtown parking opportunities etc. Accordingly, we view this project not as advocacy for a specific transportation solution. Rather, this project will provide guidance to assure that if park and ride is a chosen through a robust planning process, that the best possible system and projects are developed.