WPCNR THE PARKING NEWS. By John F. Bailey. August 21, 2007: Most White Plains TransCenter Parking Garage Permit holders do not know that they have another perk: They can park overnight in that facility if they pay a nightly fee at the office.  

Secrets of the TransCenter Garage! Non Permit Holders can also park in that garage on the ground floor  (shown here) and the top floor for $10 a day, if they get there early.

The question came up when WPCNR was pointing out that there appears to be no way a person a person can park at the train station to take the County AIR LINK  bus to the airport. At least, no way to park that the county and the city  chose to make obvious to the public.

Here is how it works, according to the offices at the TransCenter and Galleria garages:

Say, you are headed to Westchester County Airport for a flight to Chicago, or a fast two days in Fort Lauderdale, and you are holder of a TransCenter Parking Permit. You can stop in at the Department of Parking office in the TransCenter garage and purchase an overnight permit for $10 a night, that will allow you to keep your automobile in the TransCenter  overnight for four consecutive nights for a maximum of 4 days.

For $40, plus the $1.75 charge for AIR LINK to the Westchester County Airport you can park in the TransCenter, and return to it, using AIR LINK from the airport, (as long as you get out of town and back within 96 hours). The extra $10, 20, 30 or $40 is cheaper than the parking at the airport – if you can find a space at the airport. (WPCNR got the last one on a Thursday morning at the airport last week.) 

Those without TransCenter Permits Park at MultiSpace Meters

If you do not hold a parking permit for the TransCenter Garage, but wish to take the AIR LINK to the Westchester County Airport,  you may purchase an unlimited amount of time on the multi-space parking meter machine by punching in the space number of  the space you select on the first floor or the roof.

The Transit Center office cautions you have to pay for the time you want in advance at the Multi-Space Parking Console,  allowing you to park in the TransCenter on the very ground floor or the very top floor of the garage for 24 hours for $9.75. Two Days, $19.50, three days $29.25, four days, $39, and so on. You receive a receipt from the machine, which you can display on the dash of your windshield.

The Galleria Garage is an overnight option for sojourns of a week or more.

According to information obtained from the Galleria Parking Garage, if you cannot find space at the

The TransCenter, and you wish to use AIR LINK to get to the airport – say for a one week vacation or two weeks, you may purchase a monthly 24-hour a day permit to park anywhere in The Galleria Garage for $110. If you plan your trip away in the first two weeks of the month, you can turn in your monthly permit by the 15^th of the monty and receive about a $50 dollar refund .

County Airport Garage Charge: $158 a week. Galleria Permit Saves you $50 and up.

The County Airport Garage charges $22.60 per day which amounts to $158.20 a week. At that rate, The Galleria Garage monthly permit strategy can make sense, if you can stroll the train station to pick up AIR LINK. 

If you  take AIR LINK, and park a week in the Galleria Garage, it costs you $27.50 for 7 days $19.65 for 5 days,  compared to $133  to park for 5 days at Westchester County Airport , $158.20 for 7 days . The County Airport Parking Office told WPCNR the $22.60 a day is a set rate. At present there is no discount for longterm parking at the County Airport.

You save $110 (the cost of the monthly permit), if you can coordinate with the AIR LINK Schedule. Since you can get a refund on the $110 before the 15th, you save about $50 over the cost of parking at the County Airport facility.  You cannot park overnight in the Galleria  with a weekly permit. You are only allowed to park with a weekly permit from 6 AM to Midnight.

Luggage a Problem

The drawback  to The Galleria ploy is of course – luggage. Now if the AIRLINK picked up at The Galleria this option would become even more attractive. However, it’s really a good option for the business traveler who travels light and makes a flight a week out of Westchester County.

However, you are not even guaranteed a parking space should you drive to Westchester County Airport.

AIR LINK makes good sense if you have a significant other who can drop you off at AIR LINK – if you knew where to find the AIR LINK stop, since the stops are not clearly marked.