Question

If there were no parking meters and fees, how do you think the available parking spaces would be allocated? Would that allocation system be better? For whom? Without parking fees, do you think people would perceive that there is more or less of a "parking problem"? If parking fees are to be used, should they vary by location? Time of day? Time of year?

Answer 1

If there were no parking meters and fees, available parking spaces would be used and allocated on the basis of first-come-first-serve system. This allocation is not necessarily better for everyone as parking spots are then taken up by people who are not serious about consumption in whatever building they are visiting - a parking fee ensures that only people who need parking/have serious work use the space. The removal of parking meters and fees would only be beneficial to those who cannot afford day-to-day parking fees. Without parking fees, the parking problem would increase considerably - without a price on parking spots, there will be less space available. If parking fees are to be used, they should by location on the basis of availability of parking spaces - if a place has lots of vacant space, it does not make sense to charge a parking fee, on the other hand, areas with little parking space should have a hefty parking fee. Again, parking fee should exist when there are peak number of vehicles visiting a particular area, and the same holds for the time of year.

Hope this helped!