ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. - Alternative parking arrangements may become available to motorcoach operators that regularly run in and out of Atlantic City.
The new parking arrangements, should they materialize, could take out a little of the sting out of the higher permit fees some operators are now paying to bring coaches to Atlantic City.
The South Jersey Transportation Authority, which regulates bus traffic around Atlantic City, is considering easing regulations that would make it easier to open additionally parking facilities for motorcoaches that make close to 300,000 visits to the gambling and tourist center every year.
Currently, coach parking in Atlantic City is limited to the Atlantic City Transportation Centerd.
Coach operators urged the authority to review the parking regulations during hearings in July on an update of its Bus Management Program, which governs motorcoach activity in Atlantic City.
"We decided to look at the parking regulations at the request of the motorcoach operators," said Rose Marie Rodriguez of the authority.
Among the regulations that would be revised is a requirement that bus parking facilities located within a driving distance of five miles of a section of Atlantic City between Maine and Albany avenues, and the need to demonstrate that bus parking demand exceeds 85 percent of the existing number of authorized spaces.
"It probably was the biggest thing they did for our industry," said Andrea Malamut, executive director of the Greater New Jersey Motorcoach Association.
At least one company already is considering opening a bus parking facility in Pleasantville, a community west of Atlantic City that is outside the five-mile restriction.
"We look for favorable rates for parking, but we also look for convenience," noted Tom JaBran, president of the New Jersey association and chief executive of Trans-Bridge Lines in Bethlehem, Pa. "We like our members to be able to have a choice as to where they park and where ever works out best for them."
He said the opening of additional parking facilities would promote competition and possibly lead to lower parking rates.
Ms. Rodriguez said she did not know when there would be a vote on the parking proposal.
Meantime, the higher fees that went into effect in October apparently have caused little stir from motorcoach operators who serve Atlantic City, according to JaBran and Malamut. They said there was very little outcry during the approval process and they have heard little since.
Part of the reason, Malamut suggested, was that the authority worked closely with the association and accepted several of its key recommendations, including holding the daily fee for a bus at $2 and increasing the single and fleet medallion fees over a three-year period rather then making them effective at one time.
"We worked very well together," said Malamut.
Under the new fee schedule, a medallion for a single coach costs $600, increasing to $650 in October and to $675 in October 2006. The fleet medallion fee is $33,500 and will rise to $37,000 in October and to $40,500 in October 2006. The previous single-coach fee was $550 and the fleet fee was $30,000.