The West Virginia University community should embrace Mountain Line Transit Authority's offer to pay anyone with a valid WVU ID to park in its Westover Lot.
The Paid to Park program will decongest traffic on the Downtown Campus, a complaint many drivers have about the Morgantown area.
The lot is located on DuPont Road and fills on a first-come, first-served basis.
A bus ride will be offered every 30 minutes from 6:55 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. from the lot to the Mountain Line Bus Depot or the Garrett Lot where the Blue & Gold Line will take the rider to the Downtown or Evansdale Campus with a swipe of his or her WVU ID.
With the University now charging $20 for a parking ticket, participants can avoid the trouble.
From the Depot, a Green Line bus can take the person to the Westover Lot on the hour from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., 5:10 p.m., 5:40 p.m. and 6 p.m.
The rider will be paid $1 per day they use the Paid to Park program for a full round trip as long as he or she is gone for at least 60 minutes. Up to $20 can be paid to the rider each month.
The program is offered Monday through Friday and riders can only earn $1 per day. They will be paid $5 for every five rides they take.
Money will be deposited into the rider's Mountie Bountie account every two weeks.
With many complaints about parking and traffic, the program is an easy way to not only save money but also earn it.
In addition, this could save time for some who leave more than an hour early to catch the PRT or find a downtown parking space.
This could also be a safer place to park, considering the parking congestion on narrow roads such as McLane and Grant avenues.
For some who may pay $65 to park each month, the program could be worth $85 each month.
Riders should be aware of the program's success rate. If it's canceled, the Park & Ride Pass will be voided out, and riders will not be reimbursed.
Those interested can register at www.busride.org.
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