Oakland International Airport To Revise Parking Lot Day Rates

Oakland's Measure Y Increases City Parking Tax Rate 85 Percent

OAKLAND, Calif. - Port of Oakland's Board of Port Commissioners yesterday adopted a resolution authorizing the Port's director of aviation to revise Oakland International Airport's (OAK) per day parking rates and how they are posted effective Feb. 15, 2005. OAK will revise its parking rates to reflect an increase in the city of Oakland parking tax rate that took effect on Jan. 1, 2005. OAK's post-tax hourly rate remains unchanged.

City of Oakland voters passed Measure Y in November 2004, an annual tax that raises the city parking tax rate from 10 percent to 18.5 percent - an 85 percent increase. The Measure Y tax, to be collected until Dec. 31, 2014, raises city revenues necessary to fund violence and crime prevention programs and to enhance fire safety.

Beginning Feb. 15, 2005, OAK will revise its parking rates and how they are posted. The new rate structure will state the pre-tax rate and the city tax separately which is similar to how many off-airport parking lots post their rates. Also, the pre-tax rate for each parking lot will slightly increase so that the total fee charged to the customer is a full dollar amount after the new city tax is applied.

"Oakland International Airport must revise its parking rates to reflect the increased tax and to minimize revenue loss to the Port of Oakland. The Port is losing approximately $300,000 monthly in parking revenue until the revised rate structure can be implemented," said Steven J. Grossman, director of aviation for the Port of Oakland, which operates the airport. "Also, it is necessary to revise how the airport's parking rates are posted so that they are in line with those of off-airport parking lots and other Bay Area airports."

OAK's revised day parking rates follow:

In the Hourly, Daily A and Daily B lots, the day rate is charged for parking more than five hours. In the Economy Lot, the day rate is charged after 4.5 hours. The incremental 30-minute pre-tax rate for all lots is reduced from $1.82 to $1.69. The post-tax rate that includes the 18.5 percent city parking tax remains unchanged at $2 per each 30-minute increment up to the five-hour maximum, Valet Lot excepted.

OAK offers 853 spaces in the Hourly Lot, 6,081 spaces in the two Daily Lots, 1,463 spaces in the Economy Lot and 190 spaces in the Valet Lot. Convenient parking for those persons considered legally disabled are provided in the Hourly and Daily A lots at the posted daily rate. State-authorized disabled placards or license plates must be displayed to park in the spaces. Also, the Valet Lot offers a reduced rate for disabled persons.

The increased parking tax affects all parking lots within city limits, including those at OAK and the off-airport parking companies. OAK's last parking rate increase took effect in June 2003, to offset increased security and parking lot operating costs.

OAK has over 200 flights a day on 12 domestic and international carriers to 39 nonstop destinations, including Atlanta, Boston, the Hawaiian Islands, New York, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Mexico City and Mexico beach cities, and seasonal service to the Azores (Portugal), Costa Rica and Sun Valley, Idaho. OAK served 14.1 million passengers and handled 672,000 metric tons of cargo in 2004.The airport is a revenue division of the Port of Oakland, an independent department of the city of Oakland.

OAK broke ground on its Terminal 2 improvement project in April 2004. This $110 million project, to be completed by fall 2006, includes construction of a new concourse with five additional boarding gates and waiting areas; a modern, centralized food, beverage and retail shopping area; expanded ticketing, security and baggage claim facilities; and new utilities. Also, the airport expects to begin improvements to the terminal roadway and curbside areas in spring 2005 to ease congestion in front of the terminals. Visit oaklandairport.com for more information.

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