Cashing Out Employer-Paid Parking: A Precedent for Congestion Pricing?

is one of ten regional units mandated by Congress and established in Fall 1988 to support research, education, and training in surface trans-portation° The UC Center serves federal Region IX and is supported by matching grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation, the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the University. Based on the Berkeley Campus, UCTC draws upon existing capabilities and resources of the Institutes of Transportation Studies at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine~ and Los Angeles; the Institute of Urban and Regional Development at Berkeley; and several academic departments at the Berkeley~ Davis, Irvine, and Los Angeles campuses. Faculty and students on other University of California campuses may participate in Center activities. Researchers at other universities within the region also have opportunities to collaborate with UC faculty on selected studies. UCTC's educational and research programs are focused on strategic planning for improving metropolitan accessibility, with emphasis on the special conditions in Region IX. Particular attention is directed to strategies for using transportation as an instrument of economic development, while also accommodating to the region°s persistent expansion and while maintaining and enhancing the quality of life there. The Center distributes reports on its research in working papers, monographs, and in reprints of published articles. It also publishes Access, a magazine presenting summaries of selected studies. For a list of publications in print, write to the address below. The contents of this report reflect the views of the author who is responsible for the facts and accuracy of the data presented herein. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official views or policies of the State of California or the U.S. Department of Transportation. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation. AC~OWLEDGMENTS Parts of this study are condensed from my report to the Federal Transit Administration, SUMMARY Almost all parking in the United States is provided free to the user. In the 1990 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, motorists reported receiving free parking for 99 percent of all automobile trips. Because the average car is parked 95 percent of the time, it seems clear that, in most cases, congestion tolls would charge motorists for the use of roads during the brief time they are travelling between free parking spaces In considering the potential benefits of congestion pricing, previous research on parking pricing provides useful evidence that automobile use is surprisingly sensitive to its price. The purpose of this study is …