How to Price Monthly Parking Passes for a Small Lot

Start with your daily maximum. Multiply it by the weekdays a pass holder will use, then take 30% to 50% off for the commitment. Then check one more thing: whether selling a share of your spaces as monthly passes leaves room for drivers who pay by the hour. A pass should fill seats you would lose otherwise. It should not push out drivers who would pay more.

This guide walks through the math, how many passes to sell, and when to change the price.

Step 1: Find your daily-max baseline

A monthly pass replaces daily parking, so price it against what a daily parker pays you today.

1. Take your daily maximum. If you don't have one, use your hourly rate times a normal workday. Eight hours at $2 is $16.
2. Count the weekdays a commuter uses. Most months have 20 to 22.
3. Multiply. A $16 daily max times 21 days is $336. That is the walk-up value of one space for a month.

Next, decide the discount. A commuter who buys a pass gives you a month of revenue up front and takes away your risk on slow days. That is worth a discount. A deep cut makes sense if the lot sits half empty on weekdays. A small one makes sense if it already fills by 9 a.m.

These are worked examples, not market rates. Before you pick a number, check what nearby garages and lots charge for monthly parking. Your pass has to beat walking one more block.

Step 2: Decide how many spaces to sell as passes

This is the decision that matters most. Every space you sell as a pass is a space you can't sell by the hour at peak times.

Use occupancy, not a gut feel. Seattle's Department of Transportation adjusts on-street rates against a target of 70% to 85% full. Rates go up when blocks are above 85% full and down when they are below 70%. SDOT reviews the data 2 to 3 times a year. The same band works as a guide for a private lot. You want one or two open spaces most of the time, so a driver who pulls in can park.

A simple way to size your pass block:

1. Look up your weekday occupancy at the busiest hour (often 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.).
2. If peak occupancy is under 70%, the empty spaces are your pass inventory. A 50-space lot at 50% peak has about 10 spaces you can sell as passes before peak hits 70%.
3. If peak occupancy is already above 85%, sell few passes or none. Raise the hourly or daily rate first.
4. Add passes in small batches, such as 5 at a time. Wait a month and recheck peak occupancy before you add more.

A pass doesn't have to reserve a specific space. If yours don't, say so on the sign and in the pass terms. Also decide whether pass holders can park on weekends and evenings, or only during weekday business hours.

Step 3: Sell to employers, not just drivers

The best monthly buyers are often businesses near your lot. An office, a clinic or a store with no parking of its own may buy a block of passes for staff.

Here is a reason they listen. For tax year 2026, the IRS set the monthly limit for qualified parking at $340 (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). Within that limit, employer-provided parking can be a tax-free benefit for the employee. Rules for employers vary. They should check with their own tax adviser. But a pass priced under $340 a month is an easy number to pitch.

Steps to sell a block:

1. List the businesses within a two-block walk that have no lot.
2. Offer a price for 5 or 10 passes, with a set start date.
3. Ask for the employees' plate numbers so you can check cars against the paid list.
4. Put the deal in writing: hours, spaces, notice to cancel, and what happens if someone parks unpaid.

Step 4: Set rules that protect your hourly revenue

A pass program goes wrong when pass holders take the best spaces at the busiest times. Set a few rules before you sell the first one.

• Hours. Pick a window, for example weekdays 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Evening and event hours stay for hourly drivers.
• Event blackouts. If your lot fills for games or concerts, say whether pass holders can park on those nights.
• One car per pass. Tie the pass to a plate. Allow a swap for a second car if you want, but only one car at a time.
• Notice period. Ask for 30 days' notice to cancel. It gives you time to resell the space.
• Price changes. Decide how you will raise prices. Change the price for new passes first, and give existing holders notice before any increase.

Signs, towing and booting rules depend on your state and city. If you plan to tow cars that park without paying, read your local rules first. Some require specific sign wording and size.

Step 5: Review the price every few months

A pass price is not set and forget. Check three numbers every quarter:

1. Peak occupancy. If it is above 85%, stop selling new passes or raise the price for new buyers.
2. Wait list. If people are asking for passes and you have none left, your price is too low.
3. Cancellations. If several holders cancel in one month, check if a nearby lot cut its price.

SDOT reviews its data 2 to 3 times a year. A quarterly review is a good pace for a small lot too. Change prices in small steps. Then give each change a full month before you judge it.

How Park Graph handles monthly passes

Park Graph turns a lot into a pay-by-phone lot with a printed QR sign. You set your own rates. Each lot has an hourly rate and an optional daily maximum on its Pricing page. Drivers scan the sign with a phone camera and pay with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card. They don't need an app or an account. See how it works and QR payments.

For monthly passes, you set a price per month on the lot's Pricing page. Drivers then see a Monthly tab on the lot's pay page. Stripe bills them every month, and you see every pass on the lot's Monthly passes page. A new price applies to new passes only, so current holders keep the rate they signed up at.

Pass holders and hourly drivers live on the same dashboard. Analytics shows revenue, sessions and occupancy, so you can check your peak hours before you sell more passes. Check plate tells you if a car is PAID, EXPIRED or has NO RECORD.

Payouts run through Stripe. Your first payout is released 7 days after your first payment, once your ID check is done. After that, payouts arrive 2 business days after each payment. The Starter plan has no monthly fee and keeps 10% per transaction (minimum $0.75). Pro and Enterprise add peak-hour, weekend and event pricing. Details are in the FAQ and on the pricing page.

Quick checklist before you launch

1. Daily max set and posted.
2. Pass price picked from the daily-max math and checked against nearby lots.
3. Pass count capped so peak occupancy stays under about 85%.
4. Hours, event blackouts and plate rules written down.
5. A list of nearby employers to pitch.
6. A date on the calendar to review the numbers in 90 days.

Want to see what your lot could earn first? Try the parking lot revenue calculator.

Sources: Seattle DOT Performance-Based Parking Pricing Program; IRS tax inflation adjustments for tax year 2026.

Start free at https://parkgraph.com