Edinburgh Napier University

  Parking plays an important role in mobility, access and the economic development of cities; at the same time, it is a profitable business for both the private and public sectors. The city centre car parking market is a sector of the economy that has increased in importance as the market for cars has grown. Cars have become a fundamental element of journey mobility and, in consequence, parking has as well.
The car-parking sector has always been of great importance in terms of urban mobility, since it is a fundamental element in achieving a high level of accessibility in the city centres. In fact, many businesses and municipalities see an adequate supply of parking, especially for visitors, as crucial for their competitive growth. Yet, at the same time parking is, and will remain for most cities, the most powerful means of traffic restraint available. The economics of car parking is also important because it is, both for public and private organizations, a key source of revenue.
Despite the importance of the sector, knowledge of the car parking market has been until very recently, sparse and limited. This thesis is focused on the car parking operator’s point of view, analysing and appraising this industry and the actors involved. The related literature investigates the car parking sector analysing the variables that influence its behaviour. The literature review also appraises whether and how far car parking operators are considered as key transport actors by local and national authorities, comparing Italy and the UK. The information collected is used to structure an econometric model, using the variables chosen as important and simulating the strategic behaviour of the car parking operator in a city centre context.
The research also deepens the analysis of the car parking sector with a survey of car parking operators and policies in some Italian and UK cities. In this way the research achieves its aims to contribute to filling the knowledge gap on the city centre car parking market, both theoretically and empirically. Theoretically because the literature on car parking is very recent and little investigated; empirically, because research in this field is also sparse.