Park and ride first principles assessment

First principles assessment

Why Introduce Park and Ride?

The primary reasons for introducing Park and Ride are to:

reduce congestion along roads leading into the city centre;
reduce congestion within the city centre;
reduce environmental externalities along roads leading to and within the city centre.

A number of secondary reasons can also be identified, these include:

raising revenues;
improving road safety; and
stimulating further growth in the business and tourist sectors without increasing transport externalities.

In certain cases a park and ride scheme will achieve all these objectives, more commonly a park and ride scheme will only achieve specific objectives.

Demand Impacts

Park and ride is designed to give people a better alternative to their current form of travel by reducing the generalised cost of travel, e.g. reducing journey times or costs. In so doing there may be additional benefits such as a reduction in stress (not having to drive or find parking), increasing their productivity (can read on public transport) and aid the environment by reducing externalities. The demand impacts are presented in the tables below.

Table 1: Responses and situations (impact on vehicle trips/mileage)

Response	Reduction in road traffic	Expected in Situations
		Set off earlier or later to catch bus, befitting timetable
	/	Rather than drive directly into city centre, drivers go to park and ride to catch the bus. This may involve a diversion but it is likely that car miles are reduced.
		Add new flow of traffic to park and ride car park, rather than city centre, although ultimate destination is unchanged.
		Possible element of trip generation.
	/	Change from car to car and bus travel. May be able to leave car at home, and walk to park and ride. Also evidence of changing from bus to car and bus travel.
		May actually encourage car ownership.
		Likely to make longer commutes more attractive and so encourage locating outside of town far from place of work.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

A Park and ride scheme will need high levels of patronage soon after opening unless significant subsidy is provided. A scheme will also need ongoing promotion especially if the turnover of users is high (changes in employment location etc).

Table 2: Short and Long Run Demand responses

Response		1st year	2-4 years	5 years	10+ years
	Change departure time either on basis of bus departure or overall journey length
	Going to park and ride car park rather than directly to work
	Possibility of changing shopping destination in the short-term and maybe even job location in the medium to longer term.
	Possible trip generation effect due to easier access to city centre.
	Car and cycle journeys transfer to public transport for more congested part of their journey. Also possibility of bus trips transferring to car for less congested part of journey.	/	/	/	/
	May encourage car ownership.
	May encourage locating further from place of work in less central location.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Supply Impacts

The scheme will need a large area of land for the car park to be built. This area will also have to be serviced by public transport which will have different implications depending what form of public transport is used. In the case of a bus park and ride this will entail building an access road and the construction of bus stops. For suburban rail this will entail the building of an access road and the possible construction of a new rail station and perhaps additional rail track. For light rail this will also entail the building of an access road, a new station and possibly additional track.

A bus based park and ride will involve the purchase or lease of additional buses and employment of additional drivers., For rail and light rail based systems this may involve modification of existing stops, additional stops on an existing service. Alternatively a park-and-ride is likely to form an element in a new rail scheme.

Financing Requirements

These will differ depending on the size of the park and ride scheme that is implemented and also whether or not it can be serviced by existing public transport services. The area of land and its distance form the city/town centre will affect the cost of its purchase as well as the cost of developing the land into a car park of sufficient size and quality. Operational costs (vehicle and drivers) will differ depending upon the type of public transport used to serve the facility and the extent to which existing services can be used to serve the park and ride.

Additional costs will arise in the form of signs for the sites and a marketing campaign to promote the service. Whilst park and ride services will generate revenue in the form of parking charges and fares there is to date only one service in the UK that has covered its operating costs (Brighton) the others are subsidised, with subsidies ranging from £0.11 per car (York) to £5.87 (Coventry).

Expected Impact on Key Policy Objectives

Table 3: Expected impact on key policy objectives

Objective	Scale of contribution	Comment
	/	May reduce traffic congestion and delays in the urban area. Perhaps also park and ride represents a means of introducing car drivers to the possibility of using public transport. On the other hand the scheme may simply encourage non-car drivers to purchase a car.
	/	If road traffic is reduced in urban areas this is likely to reduce community severance, local air pollution, noise pollution and perceptions of danger. In the longer term traffic may well be increased in the site’s catchment zone.
	/	Reduces noise pollution, local air pollution and CO2 emissions in urban areas but may lead to an increase in the site's catchment zone.
	/	If the park and ride service serves non park-and-ride sites then it may lead to improved accessibility for the socially excluded. On the other hand, if resources are diverted from socially necessary services to pay for the park-and-ride then social exclusion may well be increased.
	/	Possibly fewer accidents in the urban area but more in the site's catchment zone.
		Lower congestion may increase productivity but if large subsidies are required, associated taxes may stifle economic growth.
		All except one scheme in the UK (Brighton) requires an operating subsidy.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Expected Impact on Alleviation of Problems

Table 4: Contribution to alleviation of key problems

Problem	Scale of contribution	Comment
Congestion-related delay		Due to transfer from car to car plus PT
Congestion-related unreliability		Due to transfer from car to car plus PT
Community severance	/	Positive impact due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible negative impact in site's catchment area.
Visual intrusion	/	Positive impact due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible negative impact in site's catchment area.
Lack of amenity	/	Positive impact due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible negative impact in site's catchment area.
Global warming	/	Reduced CO2 emissions due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible increased emissions in site's catchment area.
Local air pollution	/	Reduced emissions of NOx, particulates and other local pollutants in urban area but possible increase in site's catchment area.
Noise	/	Positive impact due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible negative impact in site's catchment area.
Reduction of green space		Space required for the car park and also possible increase in traffic in catchment area may ultimately lead to pressure for more road building. Reduced traffic in urban area is less likely to have an impact on green space because major roadbuilding is rarely an option.
Damage to environmentally sensitive sites	/	Positive impact due to transfer from car to car plus PT but possible negative impact in site's catchment area.
Poor accessibility for those without a car and those with mobility impairments	/	If the park-and-ride services serve other areas then accessibility may be improved. On the other hand, park-and-ride may well make rural bus services less viable (due to transfer from bus to car plus bus) so reducing access in already poorly served areas.
Disproportionate disadvantaging of particular social or geographic groups	/	As above.
Number, severity and risk of accidents	/	Likely reductions in urban area due to transfer from car but possible increase in site's catchment area.
Suppression of the potential for economic activity in the area		Lower congestion frees up time for more productive work and may encourage businesses to locate in the area but if large subsidies are required, associated taxes may stifle economic growth.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Expected Winners and Losers

Table 5: Expected Winners/Losers

Group	Winners/Losers	Comment
Large scale freight and commercial traffic		Reduced congestion on roads allows quicker travel
Small businesses		Possible benefits from easier journey to work using the scheme and/or reduced congestion.
High income car-owners		Possible benefits from easier journey to work using the scheme and/or reduced congestion.
People with a low income	/	Provides an alternative means of travel if car is available.
People with poor access to public transport		Such people are likely to be located in rural areas whose bus services may be less viable with the introduction of park-and-ride due to transfers from bus to car plus bus.
All existing public transport users	/	The scheme may lead to improved services between its location and town centre but on the other hand may lead to cuts in more rural services.
People living adjacent to the area targeted	/	Easy access to the park-and-ride site. Some people may experience increased traffic whilst for others traffic levels will be reduced.
People making high value, important journeys		Reduced congestion in urban area as well as an alternative means of reaching the centre.
The average car user		Reduced congestion in urban area as well as an alternative means of reaching the centre.

	= Weakest possible positive contribution,		= strongest possible positive contribution
	= Weakest possible negative contribution		= strongest possible negative contribution

= No contribution

Barriers to Implementation

Table 6: Barriers to Implementation

Barrier	Scale	Comment
Legal		Sufficient land and access rights are needed. For example, in the UK if the total scheme is projected to cost over £5 million then a public enquiry is required.
Finance		Capital costs may be significant including land for a car park. Operating subsidies are also likely to be required as well as marketing campaigns.
Political		May be concerns with creating a large car park on the outskirts of a town. Significant ongoing subsidy funded by taxpayers may also fuel opposition.
Feasibility		Unlikely to present insurmountable technical feasibility issues.

= minimal barrier,

= most significant barrier