Evaluation of Current Government Policies on the Parking Shortage Problem in Shanghai

The evaluation of current government policies on parking shortage problem in Shanghai and suggest possible solutions.

1. Introduction - Situation of parking shortage problem in Shanghai

The number of vehicles in Shanghai has increased during recent years. There is greater demand for parking spaces. However, the number of parking spaces failed to fulfill the demand for the parking spaces due to various reasons, which leads to parking spaces shortage problem. According to National Bureau of Statistics of China (2012), there were 2.12 million cars in Shanghai in 2012. While the number of registered public parking spaces was 389 thousand till June, 2012, the gap between the supply and the demand is still large and estimated to be around 300 thousand (China Daily, 2012). Also, It is estimated that by the end of 2015 the demand will widen the shortage to 450,000. High shortage of parking spaces will lead to various consequences, such as increased likeliness of illegal parking and higher parking fee. This brings wide range of adverse effects to the urban transport. Yang (2012) pointed out that the parking spaces shortage problem in the city centre was much severe than that of the rural area. Most of the car owners were unwilling to park their cars in the carpark as the parking fee was too high to afford, hence there was always illegal parking at the roadside. The illegal parking record rose from 1.94 million in 2011 to 2.18 million in 2012. Moreover, there were some parking spaces underutilized because of the high parking fee. Thus, it is of paramount importance to tackle the parking spaces shortage problem as soon as possible.

The Shanghai government mitigated the parking shortage problem from supply and demand perspective. From the supply side, the local government introduced mobile parking spaces in the downtown region so as to increase the supply of parking spaces. From the demand side, the city government introduced car plate auction system, which implies

Bibliography: Cao, Z.W. (2011, May 24) 四箭齐发 破解广州 停车难 困局. CHKI. Retrieved from http://www.cnki.net. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. (2013, January 14). 2012年12月分车型前十家生产企业销量排名. China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. Retrieved from: http://www.caam.org.cn/zhengche/20130114/0905085491.html. China Daily. (2014, January 6). Cities’ car plate policies. China Daily. Retrieved from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/motoring/2014-01/06/content_17217042.htm. Du, Q. (2013, June 3). More places to park needed. Global Times. Retrieved from: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/786366.shtml#.UzvrUL8xLfY. Jaffe, E. (2013, March 20). How Park-and-Ride Encourages Car Use. Retrieved from: http://www.theatlanticcities.com/commute/2013/03/how-park-and-ride-encourages-car-use/5034/ Jf daily. (2012, January 13). 屠海鸣委员建议借鉴香港经验缓解上海“停车难” . SHSZX. Retrieved from http://shszx.eastday.com/node2/node4810/node5001/u1a50925.html. Li, N.L, Lin, X.L. & Yang, X (2006, November 14) 穗繁华地段4年建8500停车位 广东交通. CHKI. Retrieved from http://www.cnki.net. Li, S. H. (2013). The suggestions on alleviating ‘parking difficulties’ in Shanghai City Center. Journal of science development. 9. 102-106. Li, Y. (2012, September 19). 泊位缺口30万 上海推进资源错时共享缓解停车难. China Daily Asia. Retrieved from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/hqgj/jryw/2012-09-19/content_7054388.html. Liao, E. and Halt, C. (2013). The Pursuit of Revenue Reduction: An Experimental Analysis of the Shanghai License Plate Auction. Charlottesville: University of Virginia. Liu, Q. W. (2007, June 13). 香港出招巧解城市停车难题 上万咪表车位布全港. Shenzhen Special Zone Daily. Retrieved from http://sz.focus.cn/news/2007-06-13/323156.html. Mingardo G. (2013). Transport and environmental effects of rail-based Park and Ride: evidence from the Netherlands. Journal of Transport Geography. Volume 30. P7-16. Minjie, Z National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2013, July 13). 国家数据. National Bureau of Statistics of China. Retrieved from http://data.stats.gov.cn. National Bureau of Statistics of China, (2013, December 5) Pearce, O. (2011, July 25). Parking in shanghai is too cheap. China Economic Review. Retrieved from http://www.chinaeconomicreview.com/content/parking-shanghai-too-cheap. Shanghai Daily. (2011, April 12). In shanghai, space counts than the cost to park in it. China.org.cn. Retrieved from http://www.china.org.cn/business/2011-04/12/content_22337389.htm. Shanghai Daily. (2008, July 15). "Park and Ride" the Future for Shanghai. Crienglish.com. Retrieved from http://english.cri.cn/3100/2008/07/15/1261s380772.htm Shanghai gov Shen, Z. (2013, August 16). 闸北在学校周边开临时泊位 移动P牌挖掘停车潜资源. East Day. Retrieved from http://sh.eastday.com/m/20130806/u1a7572332.html. Tao, J Tian and Ho. (2013, April 25). In China, the License Plate can cost more than the car. Bloomberg businessweek. Retrieved from: http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-04-25/in-china-the-license-plates-can-cost-more-than-the-car. Weng, J. Y. (2009, July 10). 错时停车共享资源 停车新政收敛明显. CNKI. Retrieved from http://www.cnki.net. Wong, B,L. (2005, June 30). 洋"咪表"水土不服 99個泊車位使用率不足一半. Xinhuanet. Retrieved from http://big5.xinhuanet.com/gate/big5/www.sh.xinhuanet.com/2005-06/30/content_4540288.htm. Yue Li. (2013, January 25). Shanghai’s Newest Luxury Item: The License Plate. The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2013/01/25/shanghais-newest-luxury-item-the-license-plate. Zhabei Government. (2013, July 31). 挖掘潜力增设车位 闸北区利用移动P牌缓解“停车难”. Zhabei Government. Retrieved from http://www.shzb.gov.cn/zhabei/shzb/xwzx/cqxw/u1ai45883.html. Zhang R.; Wang L. and Yan Z. (2009). Park-and-Ride Demand Analysis and Parking Pricing: a case study of Shanghai in rail transit park-and-ride operation. UrbanTransport of China. Volume 7. Number 2. P12-18.