Free Parking Gives Rise to Congestion

Image: UCLA

Donald Shoup, Professor of Urban Planning

DONALD SHOUP
Age: 72
Profile: Professor of Urban Planning, University of California, Los Angeles; editor, ACCESS magazine
Education: Ph.D., M.A., B.A. in Economics, Yale University; B.E. in Electrical Engineering, Yale University
Publication: The High Cost of Free Parking, Chicago; 2005
Interests: Biking, swimming 

What is the high cost of free parking?
Many countries, including the United States and certainly India, suffer from chaos associated with too many parked cars. When street parking is free, but there are no vacant spaces, many people drive around hunting for a space. This wastes valuable time and fuel. It interferes with pedestrians, congests roads and pollutes the air.

The Indian auto industry is expected to cross $100 billion in size, which is a nightmare in terms of traffic and parking. What is the solution?
Well, I don’t think it has to cause a nightmare if India manages the parking supply properly. If parking remains free on the streets, there will be a crisis. Indian cities have some of the most valuable land on earth and if it is given away free for on-street parking, you’re going to have a shortage.

Street parking is not free in major central business districts in India. Still, there is chaos. Why?
This is because supply is fixed, but demand rises and falls during the day. So should the price.   

What is the right price?
It’s the price at which there will be one or two open spaces on every block, or about an 85 percent occupancy rate, so there’s no glut of parked cars. I call it the Goldilocks principle of parking prices — not too low or too high.

What influences the price?
The density of cars. In places with high automobile density the price will be very high. In rural parts it will be zero. It’s just like rent.

Why has the private sector not solved the parking problem?
If the city is giving away free parking or if the price is too low, that’s a disincentive to build parking garages.

So, the government has a significant role?
Yes, because it owns on-street parking and is mismanaging it. It’s the city government’s responsibility to set the right prices for on-street parking. What makes the Goldilocks principle of parking prices increasingly popular in the US is that some cities dedicate the revenue they earn from on-street parking to pay for added public services on the metered streets — better lighting, cleaner and safer sidewalks.

Most car owners employ chauffeurs who circle the block. Is this a disincentive for paid parking on the street?
Most of the Nanos are not going to have chauffeurs. And having street parking that is always full (because it’s free or under-priced) is not going to help people who employ chauffeurs because of the chaos on the road. Many people in the US who can afford a chauffeur prefer to drive because they can always find a place to park. They don’t need a chauffeur to drive around the block while shopping or having lunch.

Is this why some find it challenging to drive in India?
That’s right. Studies for the past 80 years on four continents show that about 30 percent of cars that comprise traffic are cruising for parking. If you can get the right price for parking and remove these cars from the road, you’d greatly improve traffic conditions.

This calls for change in habits and mindset, right?
Exactly. People will learn that free parking is impossible to find. And parking that’s easy to find won’t be free.