Lyft/Uber Rideshare Program Renewed By Summit Council Despite Debate

SUMMIT, NJ — As commuter parking lots in Summit near capacity, the Council voted to renew its ridesharing program, powered by Lyft and Uber, to help alleviate parking congestion in and around the downtown.

Despite some pushback from residents, and concerns expressed by Councilwoman Lisa Allen, the Council unanimously approved a one-year contract extension of the rideshare program, with a budget of $120,000.

This program was created by the Parking Services Agency back in 2016 and is only offered to Summit residents. Residents who pay for commuter parking permits or a downtown employee parking permit are eligible for free rides to and from the station.

Residents without prepaid permits were eligible for $3 rides to and from the station, but on Tuesday night, the council approved a resolution to raise the cost to $4 rides.

The Council also approved limiting the total trip cap from $20 to $12, bringing down the city's maximum possible cost per ride to $8.

These trips must begin at the train station and end within Summit, or vice versa, between Monday through Friday between 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. — as per the newly approved resolution.

An 'Upward Trend' Of Limited Parking

Councilman Andy Minegar explained that the reason this program is exists is to reduce the number of cars that need to park somewhere in the city.

"If we can do that successfully, we don't have to build more parking in the future," he said.

In 2019, Minegar said garages and lots were very full, and most resident commuter and employee parking spaces were between 91 and 99 percent full for nearly the entire year. He said these numbers dipped only slightly during spring break, summer and the holiday season.

"That year, the use of the rideshare program spiked out of a demand for an alternative to parking," Minegar said. "2019 showed us that the importance of this rideshare program increases as the number of open spots decreases."

The rideshare program diminished in 2020 when the pandemic hit, but now in 2022, Minegar said the number of open spots in Summit's commuter lots are decreasing again.

On an average day in January this year, Minegar said the Broad Street garage was 40 percent full. This increased to 59 percent in February, then 72 percent, 77 percent and by October, the lot reached 87 percent capacity.

In addition, Minegar said the Elm Street lot started at 40 percent in January and rose to 90 percent by October.

"It's a very clear, upward trend," Minegar said.

From Tuesday to Thursday, Minegar argued that these lots are consistently near or at full capacity.

"This data is as close as we can get to seeing the future, and it sure looks like we're steadily heading back to that full capacity [that we had] in 2019," he said. "The rideshare program is a highly flexible tool that reduces the number of parked cars, and I strongly support the renewal of this program."

Councilmembers Voice Support, Concerns

Councilman Greg Vartan also voiced his support for the program and argued that allocating $120,000 is "nothing" compared to the millions of dollars the city would have to spend on building a new parking deck.

However, Councilwoman Lisa Allen expressed concerns about the cost, and said in 2019, the program jumped to $175,000 for the city.

If someone is worried about finding a parking space, Allen said whether or not they take an Uber should come down to the individual's decision and the city should not necessarily be responsible.

Allen also pointed out that the lots are not at full capacity, and some spaces are still available for residents. But Council President Marjorie Fox said it is important to pay attention to the upward trends.

"Taking this program away now because we're at 89 percent [capacity] and not at 100 percent doesn't make sense with the trends we're seeing," Fox said.

Allen asked Parking Services Manager Rita McNany if the city is making enough money from out-of-town commuters to outweigh the $120,000 cost.

McNany said in 2019, Parking Services received $450,000 from non-resident commuter parking, which was more than enough to pay for the rideshare program. Now in 2022, McNany said the city earned $250,000 for non-resident parking, which again offset the cost of the rideshare program.

This year, McNany said the city only spent $66,000 on the program. In the month of October, 146 individual Summit residents used the program, according to McNany.

Residents Respond

Resident Eric Kurs-Lasky advocated for putting the renewal on pause until the lots reach full capacity. He argued that the city could generate more revenue by requiring everyone to pay for commuter parking permits.

"If we just look at October of 2022, the same individuals who would have otherwise used the parking spaces, as opposed to the rideshare, it would have generated $15-20,000 of income for the city," Kurs-Lasky said.

But McNany said the city is still getting the $4 as if the person using the Uber or Lyft parked their car for the day. She said the city is being subsidized by the higher rate of non-commuter parking permits.

Resident Andy Friedland said he often uses the rideshare program and finds that it is an innovative solution to the city's lack of parking.

"It's a really nifty idea," Friedland said.

You can view the full council meeting on YouTube and read more about the rideshare program on the city's website.