A report released in July by the UK’s Royal Automobile Club (RAC) has detailed British parking policy and practice. Called “Spaced Out: Perspectives on parking policy”, the 113 page report offers a huge depth of data on the industry.
The report focuses on the demand and supply of parking, with a particular emphasis on the lack of information at a local governmental level on available on-street and off-street parking spaces. It draws a comparison between housing density and the corresponding number of vehicles parked on-street, and explores the demand for parking by time of day.
Interestingly, the report indicates that no parking fees apply to around 94% of all “destination parking” acts. Of the remaining 6% that do pay, over 82% pay less than £3, and almost half pay less than £1. Overall, the analysis suggests that, excluding any charges for residential parking, the average annual parking cost is about £42 per vehicle, and, with an average of 1.14 cars per household, this translates to about £47 per household per year. By contrast the amount spent on fuel alone is about £1,600 per vehicle.
The report also includes data on parking policy from local councils as well as an analysis of survey results on public attitudes to parking, the impact of emerging parking technology and parking standards. As the mainstream media report, local councils do use parking to generate a revenue stream for their operations, with only 15% reporting a deficit in their parking activity.
“Spaced Out: Perspectives on parking policy” can be viewed in full here.