Assessment of Different Parking Pricing Strategies: A Simulation-based Analysis

Abstract

Parking demand exceeding parking supply and uneven parking demand distribution are the existing conflicts in city centers. Parking pricing is frequently utilized to manage parking resources. This study aims to assess different parking pricing strategies through simulations for providing operational suggestions for urban parking managers. Two widely used parking pricing strategies in China combined with an optimized parking pricing strategy are proposed and compared. We introduce an agent-based simulation system to describe the parking and traffic conditions. Various measures of effectiveness under different parking pricing strategies can be obtained via agent-based simulations. We then construct a comprehensive benefit combining average cost and failure rate. Results show that the second strategy with charging different parking fees by considering locations and third optimized strategy can effectively improve traffic efficiency. However, the second strategy may lead to higher average cost than that of the third one. Thus, the third optimized strategy performs the best and can be used to optimize the parking policy of parking managers in the future. The entire assessment through simulations can provide evaluation suggestions for parking managers to adjust parking policies.Sustainability 2020, 12, 2056 2 of 13 estimate the changes in car usage and parking location utilization [4]. Kelly and Clinch (2006) analyzed a survey on 1007 on-street parkers in Dublin, Ireland, and found a progressively widening gap in price sensitivity between trips made for business and nonbusiness purposes [5]. Public acceptance of increased parking fare is an important issue. Bonsall and Young (2010) developed a charge strategy based on public acceptance. Their analysis suggested that the combined effect might be beneficial to the local economy and yield a net increase in revenue although the removal of parking charges would reduce revenues [6]. Jansson (2010) believed that the taxation of the free or highly subsidized parking provided by employers in city centers could be extremely useful for alleviating urban congestion [7]. The second category of research focuses on the impact of parking charging methods on parking behavior. Caicedo (2011) analyzed the parking charge in terms of minutes to obtain its impact on parking turnover and revenues [8]. Zhang and Zhu (2016) introduced a critical value of user-acceptable parking fee into a parking choice model and analyzed the influence of parking fee on drivers' parking choice and roadside parking utilization [9]. Dale et al. (2017) assessed the impact of workplace parking tax on local traffic congestion in Nottingham and found that traffic congestion is immensely alleviated by the said tax [10]. Gao et al. (2018) proposed a price-based tradable credit scheme to minimize social costs by optimizing the credit scheme and the number and location of parking and transfer stations [11]. Cai et al. (2018) proposed a parking space allocation method based on open window, parking fee, and reservation rat...

Sustainable Mobility: A Review of Possible Actions and Policies

“…Parking pricing is, probably, the most used pricing policies in the world [179][180][181][182]. Almost all large cities in western countries, and many medium and small towns, have a parking fee on public areas, usually based on the parking time.…”

Návrhy Řešení Parkování v Obytných Městských Částech

“…Parkováním na hlavní ulici ve městě a využíváním parkovacích míst v rámci mikroskopické simulace v 10minutových intervalech ve vazbě na stanovení ceny se zabývá (Dave et al, 2020). Posouzením různých strategií cenového zpoplatnění parkování založeného na simulaci se zabývá (Mei et al, 2020).…”

A Comparison Analysis on Car User Decision When Faced with Different Congestion Pricing Policy (Case Study: Jakarta Metropolitan Area)

“…However, on the other hand, applying P2 is considered by some to be the second-best alternative to RP [20]. Furthermore, many studies on people's travel behaviour have been done for RP [21] and P2 [22]. However, studies that compare the impacts of these two policies are rare [23].…”