{"id":415633,"date":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415633\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T11:44:09","slug":"downtown-orlando-parking-rates-increase-cashless-system-launches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/415633\/","title":{"rendered":"Downtown Orlando parking rates increase, cashless system launches"},"content":{"rendered":"

ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Downtown Orlando drivers are paying more to park starting today, as new parking rate increases approved by the Orlando City Council<\/a> last spring are now officially in effect.<\/p>\n

The city projects the hike will generate an additional $5.5 million per year.<\/p>\n

On-street parking rates are nearly doubling in some areas. Drivers will now pay $2 per hour for the first two hours, up from $1 per hour. The third hour costs $3, the fourth costs $4, and rates continue to increase incrementally up to six hours.<\/p>\n

Parking garage rates are also rising. The new rate is $2 per hour for the first four hours, then $3 per hour after that, with a maximum daily charge of $20 \u2014 up from $15.<\/p>\n

The city approved the rate changes after a study found Orlando\u2019s parking fees were outdated compared to similar cities.<\/p>\n

Businesses, drivers worry about impact<\/p>\n

Not everyone is welcoming the change. Ricardo Ibanez, owner of Buffalo Boss on Orange Avenue, said the increases add pressure on small businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like the city of Orlando is trying to put some more stress on me,\u201d Ibanez said.<\/p>\n

He worries higher parking costs will deter people from visiting downtown. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, it\u2019s definitely a worry. Hopefully customers do understand and can support the business. It has nothing to do with us,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n

Parking rates are now enforced from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, up from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.<\/p>\n

Parking will remain free from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. on Sundays and on city-observed holidays<\/p>\n

Along with the rate hike, the city is eliminating traditional parking meters. Drivers must now pay using the ParkMobile app or by calling or texting the number posted at each parking location \u2014 a shift that is already creating confusion.<\/p>\n

One driver left a note on their car that read: \u201cI don\u2019t have a phone or a credit card and now I\u2019m late. What am I supposed to do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Harold Scott, another driver, told News 6 he was still trying to figure out the new system.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t. I\u2019m trying to find out. That\u2019s why I\u2019m looking at this sign here. I don\u2019t know. So I\u2019m going to have to find a parking spot where I can put my money in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

To help drivers adjust, the city has implemented a three-week education and warning period for the updated enforcement hours. <\/p>\n

For more information on parking system modernization, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by WKMG ClickOrlando – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2013 Downtown Orlando drivers are paying more to park starting today, as new parking rate increases…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":415634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[1335,139,141,140,729],"class_list":["post-415633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orange-county","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-traffic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/415634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}