Are national parks going cashless?
Are national parks going cashless? Increasingly, U.S. national parks are switching to cashless payment for entrance fees and other charges. Critics say that hurts equal access to public lands. A growing number of sites operated by the U.S. National Park Service no longer accept cash for entrance fees or other services.
How much money does the government give to national parks?
Operation of the National Park System—The 2021 budget requests $2.5 billion for operations of the national park system. In 2018, NPS served more than 318 million visitors from across America and around the world. The budget includes $228.5 million for natural resource programs.
Why are national parks going cashless?
At national park sites, according to Stuckrath, “Cashless options reduce transaction times at busy entrance stations, decrease the risk of theft, reduce chances of errors, and maximize the funding available for critical projects and visitor services.”