Post on 31-Dec-2015
description
THE HIGH COST OF FREE PARKING
Donald Shoup
VEHICLE OWNERSHIP RATES:THE UNITED STATES FROM 1900 TO 1996 AND 15 OTHER COUNTRIES IN 1996
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50
100
150
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300
350
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600
650
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YEAR
MO
TO
R V
EH
ICL
ES
PE
R 1
,000
PE
RSO
NS
Vehicle ownership rates in 15 countries in 1996(Each country is placed beside the year in which the US
had the same ownership rate.)
China (9)
Mexico (125)
Japan (547) France (526)
Spain (457)
United Kingdom (486)
Denmark (397)
Ireland (343)
Greece (310)
Israel (266)
Argentina (170)
Vehicle ownership rates in the United States from 1900 to 1996
Russia (80)
1990
1985
1980
1975
1965
1960
1955
1950
1945
1940
19351930
1925
1920
1915
1996
South Korea (208)
Australia (583)
1970
1900 1910 1920 1930 1940 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000
(Motor vehicles per 1,000 persons)
All transportation systems have three basic elements:
Vehicles Rights of way Terminal capacity
Trains Train tracks Train stations
Airplanes Sky Airports
Ships Oceans Seaports
Cars Roads Parking spaces
Automobile travel is unusual in two ways:
• It requires enormous terminal capacity (several parking spaces per car).
• The cost of parking has been shifted out of the transportation sector and into the prices for everything else. Drivers park free for 99 percent of automobile trips in the US.
Who pays for free parking?
Everyone but the motorist.
TABLE 7-4
ANNUAL CAPITAL AND OPERATING COSTOF PARKING AND ROADS
($billions per year in 1990-1991)HighLow
$162$49Bundled non-residential parking
$41$15Bundled residential parking
$20$12Municipal and institutional parking
$3$3Priced parking
$226$79Total cost of parking
$223$76Total parking subsidy
1%4%Priced parking as % of total parking
$177$98Total cost of roads
128%81%Parking cost as % of road costSource (Delucchi 1997, Tables 1-5, 1-6, and 1-7)
In 2002, the total subsidy for off-street parking was between $135 billion and
$386 billion.
In 2002, the federal government spent $231 billion for Medicare, and
$349 billion for national defense.
Results of changing the price of off-street parking
Employer-Paid Parking• 95% of all automobile commuters park free at work• 91% of all commuters drive to work• 91% of commuters’ cars have one occupant• Most commuters park free regardless of
– age– gender– income– education– residence
• 85 million free parking spaces at work in 1994• Parking subsidy for commuters was $36 billion a year
Employer-Paid Parking:A Matching Grant
• Employers pay for parking at work if the employee is willing to pay for driving to work
• Commuters who do not drive to work do not get a subsidy
• Employer-paid parking encourages solo driving
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%S
olo
dri
ver
sh
are
Driver-paid parkingEmployer-paid parking
42%
67%
Free parking increases solo driving by 60%
Parking Prices Affect Mode ChoicesFor Commuters to Downtown Los Angeles
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Co
mm
ute
r m
od
e s
hare
$0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6Price of parking at work ($/day)
Drive solo
Transit
Carpool
Source: Estimated from Willson (1991)
California’s Parking Cash Out Law
• Employers must provide a cash allowance to an employee equivalent to any parking subsidy offered
• The requirement applies to:– Firms with 50 or more employees
– Only for leased parking spaces
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Com
mute
r m
ode s
hare
Solo Driver Carpool Transit Walk BicycleCommuter mode choice
Before cash outAfter cash out
76%
23%
14%
63%
6%.9%.8%2%
9%3%
Commuter Mode Share Before and After Parking Cash Out
Results
• Parking cash out reduced the number of cars driven to work by 11%
• After parking cash out, employees– traveled 652 fewer vehicle miles per year
– consumed fewer 26 gallons of fuel per year
Results of increasing the price of curb parking
$0
$1
$2
$3
$4
$5
$6
$7
$8
$9
$10
$11
$12
$13
$14
$15 P
rice o
f o
ff-s
treet
park
ing
($
/ho
ur)
$0 $1 $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 $9 $10 $11 $12 $13 $14 $15 Price of curb parking ($/hour)
FIGURE 13-2PRICES OF CURB AND OFF-STREET PARKING(for parking one hour at noon at city hall on a weekday)
Los Angeles
Buffalo, Philadelphia
Long Beach
San Francisco, Portland
Chicago
Pasadena, San Diego, Baltimore
Cambridge, Santa Monica
Santa Barbara
Palo Alto, Berkeley
New York City
Seattle
Boston
TABLE 11-4
SUMMARY OF RESEARCH ON CRUISING
AverageShare ofsearchtraffictimecruisingLocationYear
(minutes)(percent)19%Detroit (1)192734%Detroit (2)1927
17%New Haven1960
6.1London (1)19653.5London (2)19653.6London (3)1965
6.074%Freiburg1977
9.0Jerusalem1984
11.530%Cambridge1985
7.98%New York (1)199310.2New York (2)199313.9New York (3)1993
6.5San Francisco1997
6.5Sydney2001
7.730%Average
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2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Park
-an
d-v
isit
tim
e (
min
ute
s)
Quadruple Double No changeCurb parking prices
Before After
4.4
8.1
5.1
9.8
12.7
Park-and-visit times before and after changing the price of curb parking in London
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4
6
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Park
-an
d-v
isit
tim
es (
min
ute
s)
Searching Parking Walking TotalComponents of park-and-visit times
Before After
1.00.6 0.
6.0
2.9
12.7
4.4
Re
Park-and-visit times before and after parking prices were quadrupled
No meters Meters Prices quadrupled
The effects of parking prices on Grosvenor Square in London
Conclusion
• Parking is heavily subsidized. The annual subsidy for off-street parking may be about the size of the budget for national defense.
• Parking prices have a profound effect on travel choices. Parking subsidies substantially increase vehicle travel.