04-03-2011, 12:48 PM
So I guess I'm confused...if, as Kathy suggests, they can charge either a parking fee or an entrance fee, it seems as if someone didn't get the message. According to the state parks website, the fee is "Entrance Fee: $5.00 per car or $1 per person for pedestrians. No charge for Hawaii residents." So why are they charging tourists who drive in with locals? In other words, a local's minvan with 6 tourists and a local driver would pay $6 ($5 parking fee waived for the local, $1 per tourist), but if the minivan contains only 7 tourists, they'd pay $5 parking and no more?
Wouldn't it make more sense if the ticket machine was at the entrance to the parking lot? If you walk in, you pay $1 per head unless you're a local. If you drive past, you pay $5 per car unless the driver is a local, in which case you get in free. I have no problem with an entrance fee (even one that would charge everyone), but I do have a problem with fees that are collected in an inefficient or inconsistent manner.
Wouldn't it make more sense if the ticket machine was at the entrance to the parking lot? If you walk in, you pay $1 per head unless you're a local. If you drive past, you pay $5 per car unless the driver is a local, in which case you get in free. I have no problem with an entrance fee (even one that would charge everyone), but I do have a problem with fees that are collected in an inefficient or inconsistent manner.