Discussion and conclusions
This study is guided by one major research ambition, i.e., to
establish an ‘integrated modelling approach’, from which can be
derived significant contributions addressing the heterogeneity of
parking problems within the UC campus. The results of an ad hoc
assessment process concerning the available UC campus parking
places have shown that more than 45% of the current parking supply
does not involve any kind of economic regulation. Typically,
underpricing anything creates a shortage, and UC campus parking
proved to be no exception. The modelling results concerning parking
flows, presented in section Parking flows analysis, fully demonstrate
that the existing parking places are largely insufficient to
meet current demand. This conclusion is strengthened by the circumstance
that non-regular parking has actually become a ‘valid
parking alternative’ (inducing even more externalities).
It is hard to understand why universities persist in subsidizing
parking by providing it at no charge, or at prices that do not fully
take into account parking costs. Therefore, one of the measures
would be to increase control over non-regular parking and eliminate
free on-street parking, encouraging both a modal shift away
from private car use and the development of a parking meter revenue
sharing plan towards public transportation projects.
The survey results, presented in section The survey, have shown
that these measures have a significant potential to start reversing
the UC campus structural parking problems and make alternative
transport modes relatively more convenient and cost-effective.
Decreasing the overall subsidization of parking should not only reduce
the attractiveness (in relative terms) of car driving, but can
also be an important source of revenues to encourage the 73.6%
of car drivers, who have shown their willingness to accept a compensation
equivalent to a percentage of the cost of public transport
in order to reduce car use, to take the decisive step. Additionally,
promoting parking management and control policies that are compatible
with the transport planning process might be associated
with effects that go beyond the boundaries of the transportation
system and can influence several socio-economic aspects. External
costs may range from tangible investment, such as avoiding costs
of parking structure development, to less tangible externalities
such as the time savings in cruising-for-parking or health care
Discussion and conclusions
This study is guided by one major research ambition, i.e., to
establish an ‘integrated modelling approach’, from which can be
derived significant contributions addressing the heterogeneity of
parking problems within the UC campus. The results of an ad hoc
assessment process concerning the available UC campus parking
places have shown that more than 45% of the current parking supply
does not involve any kind of economic regulation. Typically,
underpricing anything creates a shortage, and UC campus parking
proved to be no exception. The modelling results concerning parking
flows, presented in section Parking flows analysis, fully demonstrate
that the existing parking places are largely insufficient to
meet current demand. This conclusion is strengthened by the circumstance
that non-regular parking has actually become a ‘valid
parking alternative’ (inducing even more externalities).
It is hard to understand why universities persist in subsidizing
parking by providing it at no charge, or at prices that do not fully
take into account parking costs. Therefore, one of the measures
would be to increase control over non-regular parking and eliminate
free on-street parking, encouraging both a modal shift away
from private car use and the development of a parking meter revenue
sharing plan towards public transportation projects.
The survey results, presented in section The survey, have shown
that these measures have a significant potential to start reversing
the UC campus structural parking problems and make alternative
transport modes relatively more convenient and cost-effective.
Decreasing the overall subsidization of parking should not only reduce
the attractiveness (in relative terms) of car driving, but can
also be an important source of revenues to encourage the 73.6%
of car drivers, who have shown their willingness to accept a compensation
equivalent to a percentage of the cost of public transport
in order to reduce car use, to take the decisive step. Additionally,
promoting parking management and control policies that are compatible
with the transport planning process might be associated
with effects that go beyond the boundaries of the transportation
system and can influence several socio-economic aspects. External
costs may range from tangible investment, such as avoiding costs
of parking structure development, to less tangible externalities
such as the time savings in cruising-for-parking or health care