Attitudes and Behavioral Responses to Measures to Deal with Workplace Parking

Abstract

The relationship between high levels of car usage and the failure to charge car users the true costs of driving is well documented. One of these costs is the cost of parking; of particular concern is the failure of employers to charge employees this cost. This paper aims to investigate employees’ attitudes and potential travel behavior responses to measures selected to deal with parking in the workplace. A survey of university employees examined the employees’ responses to the removal of free car parking spaces, to parking cash-out policies, and to workplace parking charges. The results tend to support related research indicating that cash-out schemes are more popular if they are flexible. An analysis of the data examines the impact of a number of variables on the results; differences in responses by gender, age group, and income are observed. Altogether, 28% of respondents indicated that they would continue to drive to work if a € 5 daily charge was applied, and a similar number said that they would use public transport on some days. In response to a parking cash-out scheme, 66% of respondents indicated that they would continue to drive to work. Individuals’ preferred cash-out method was to give up their car parking space on a daily basis.