Analysis of illegal parking : a case study on Hefei

Abstract

Illegal Parking has become a serious problem in major cities of China, but the features and causes of illegal parking are seldom studied; hence, no effective solutions have been proposed to solve this problem.

This study is a case study on one provincial capital city of China, Hefei, Anhui. With an on-site observation and a self-designed questionnaire survey, this study is able to reveal the general background of the study area where illegal parking is prevalent due to great parking shortage. After analyzing all the data obtained from the surveys, this study also brings to light the main characteristics of illegal-parking participants, including age, gender, income, perception on punishments and parking difficulty, as well as the distributions of illegal-parking activities temporally and spatially. Through these, this study gives a comprehensive picture of what illegal-parking phenomenon is like.

The reasons leading to illegal parking vary. This study uses a combination model of PEST and Cause and Effect Diagram (CED) to comprehensively explain the illegal parking causes from four aspects: policy & regulation, economic, social and technique.

Aiming at solving illegal parking problem, this study looks deeply into the externalities produced by and the costs of illegal-parking activity. A microeconomic analysis is adopted to compare the external cost, generalized cost and perceived cost of illegal parking. Lastly, a series of recommendations are proposed accordingly.

Increasing generalized cost is then considered as an effective and efficient way to solve illegal parking problem by not only reducing illegal parking demand but also internalizing the externality. Besides, carrying out supportive policies, increasing parking supply, educating drivers and updating parking facilities and management methods are also recommended based on the analysis of illegal parking causes.