One of the ideas about public transportation is that it needs to be easy to use. Because there is limited bus service in the outlying suburbs of the Washington Area parking lots have been built so people can park their cars and ride the bus to connect to the Metro rail system. Problem is, there is not enough parking. At the Stone Road Park and Ride in Centreville, the lot is full between 8:30 and 9:00 most days. Buses come and go from the lot much later, but since there is no where to ;arrk ridership is limited to those who can walk to the lot.
These feeder lots are important to getting people to use the public transportation. If there is no where to park it is easier to drive, even when driving is more expensive. At Metro stations, Metro encourages people to fill the lots prior to peak times by the fee structure used at the lots. Lots fill quite early making the Metro an inconvenient mode of transportation in the middle of the day from the outlying stations. Higher parking fees might be a way to alleviate this issue and force driver to the outlying park and ride lots (of course these are also full).
More parking lots in the outlying areas with more bus routes could help decrease car traffic.
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