Paper No. 150 VALIDATING STATED PARKING DURATION OF DRIVERS IN KOTA CITY, INDIA

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1 Paper No. 150 VALIDATING STATED PARKING DURATION OF DRIVERS IN KOTA CITY, INDIA Dr. Rajat Rastogi Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee Roorkee , Uttarakhand, India Abstract: The Indian cities are facing the problem of shortage of parking spaces for vehicles. This is happening even in small and medium size cities. The boom in vehicle ownership and the limited spaces available along or off the road network aggravates the problem. This results in the erratic parking behaviour. Therefore, the need is to implement policy measures that would solve the problem not only by satisfying the parking demand but also by not causing an economic loss to the area. In this respect, two studies were conducted in a medium sized city Kota, Rajasthan State in India. This paper presents the outcome of those studies and compares the results of duration analysis performed using stated intention survey data with respect to a parking usage and duration analysis done using conventional methods. The study was carried out in old city area of Kota City. The area attracts all types of trips as it provides opportunities for working, shopping, commercial visits, social visits and housing. The analysis involved computation of parking characteristics, parking accumulations and parking duration under one study and person characteristics, parking characteristics, parking policy examination and preference analysis and parking duration analysis. The comparison was made between the parking duration computed for different categories of vehicles under the two studies. It was observed that the variation in values is acceptable for full-term analysis. The persons understate durations for short-term stays but overstate it for full term stay. A fourth and fifth order polynomial is fitted for the information available. INTRODUCTION The cities are growing horizontally and vertically under the pressure of population growth. In association with rapid motorization, it affects the road infrastructure adversely. Out of the various transportation problems, the one affecting all is the parking of vehicles. During peak period, it is difficult to get a parking space, on the street or off-street. It results in erratic parking behaviour. The type of land-use with which the adjoining area is developed also governs this. The parking behaviour in case of the land-use categorized as commercial or market (shopping) is quite different than the parking behaviour of persons in residential areas. One of the parking parameters that depict this effect is parking duration. Hobbs (1979) and other researchers have observed that there is a relationship between size of city and parking duration for specific trip purposes. The information is presented in Table 1 and shows that as the size of the city increases the parking duration also increases. Table 1: Parking Duration with respect to City Size and Trip Purpose Population group Parking Duration (in hours) Shopping and Business Work Other All purposes variation Less than equal to 50,000 50, , , ,000 Above 500, The control of unsystematic parking requires the enforcement of parking policies and proper management of parking spaces. The policies may be restrictive or constructive in nature. The restrictive parking policies, namely, parking place restriction, parking time restriction, categorized 1

2 parking restriction, parking pricing, etc., are mostly implemented in the on-street parking conditions and reflect the management of parking spaces i.e. supply with respect to demand. The constructive parking policies like provision of parking lots, garages, multistoried parking, etc. relate to the augmentation of parking capacities and are generally implemented off-the-street. The estimation of parking demand requires a conduct of parking accumulation and duration study and the identification of the most acceptable parking policy require the conduct of parking intention survey. This paper is an attempt to examine the results of two parking studies conducted successively within a period of one year in a medium sized city Kota in Rajasthan State, India. The first study was a parking accumulation and duration study and the second study was a parking intention survey. The related information from the two studies has been reported at an appropriate location in this paper. Based on the information reported, the paper further examines the variation in the stated parking duration from the second study with respect to the parking duration estimated in the first study. The paper is outlined in five sections. The next section introduces the study area and discusses the methodology adopted to collect the information in the two studies. Section three presents the analysis of information from the two studies and a comparison of parking duration. Last section presents the conclusion. Next section now introduces the study area and the methodology adopted for the collection of parking information. STUDY AREA AND METHODOLOGY Study Area The study was conducted in a medium sized city Kota, Rajasthan state, India having a population of million (Census 2001). The city is well connected to big cities in the region as well as in the country through road network like National Highway-12 and 76, and B.G. railway tracks. The city has gained a status of an Educational City in recent years. As any other city it has two parts, old (walled) city and new Kota. The roads in the old city are generally less wide as compared to the roads in newly developed city. Old City comprises of dense residential settlements, markets selling specific commodities and commercial establishments. These areas attract visitors constantly thus requiring the additional parking spaces other than the ones required to park vehicles of residents of that area. On the whole, the city has around 13 percent circulation area. Figure 1 shows the road map of the city and the location of study area. The study relates to the parking study conducted successively in one such area named Rampura and along one of its road connectivity named Arya Samaj Road, leading to the outer area. Rampura comprises of bulk and retails shopping activities, banking establishments, utilities like city hospital, boys and girls high school, satellite post office, etc. Arya Samaj road mainly comprises of the bulk and retail shopping activities, and banking establishments. Both the areas have dense residential settlement along and away from the main road passing through that area. The examination of parking pattern in the area revealed the existence of parked vehicles even during the early hours of the day, indicating that some residents park their vehicles on the main road. The parking of such vehicles reduces the availability of parking space for the visitors to the area. The parking duration of the vehicles is observed varying between 10 hours and less than 1 hour depending upon the purpose like business activity, schooling, hospital or banking services, or shopping and commercial activity. There is no parking management in force that can eliminate the mixing of vehicles parked with specific purposes, which otherwise makes the situation worse especially during peak hours. The driver has to look around for the parking space and at times end up in erratic parking causing circulation problems. The only parking management strategy in force in Rampura area is the parking of vehicles in the center of the road. But it creates accident-prone condition during unparking of vehicles. Looking at the grave situation, a parking study was conducted in year 2002 to estimate the parking demand and supply, and subsequently in the year 2003 to identify the most acceptable parking policy that can be implemented in the areas to manage parking spaces. 2

3 Figure 1: Road Network of Kota City The methodology adopted in the two studies is discussed in the following paragraphs. Methodology (a) Selection of study area and survey method: Around six activity areas of old city were selected for the conduct of parking accumulation and duration study in year Further, a stated intention survey was conducted in next year, in continuation of the previous study, in two parts of the old city so as to examine the policy preferences of the parkers. The method selected with this purpose was Personal Interview technique. (b) Formulation of survey sheet/questionnaire: Under the first study, simple sheets were used wherein the name of area, time period of data collection, day and date, name of surveyor, cycle length for data collection, etc. were incorporated. Columns to record total number of parked vehicles, by category, (for accumulation study) and registration numbers of vehicles parked (for duration study) were also provided on the sheet. A survey questionnaire was developed to present the policy options to the parkers and to record their preferences. The presentation methods used were ranking and rating in some cases and direct indication of preferences in others. The survey questionnaire designed is shown in Appendix 1. (c) Conduct of survey: The study area was divided into sub-areas to ease out the conduct of survey. The sub-areas were assigned to the surveyors. The cycle length used was 30 minutes. Under first study, parking usage survey was used for accumulation study and registration number plate technique was used for duration study. The data was collected on a normal working day between and hrs separately for car, three-wheeler and two-wheeler categories. Under the second study, the surveyors were told to conduct interviews of as many parkers as possible. They were also asked to collect accumulation data so as to correlate the parking information with the previous study. (d) Analysis of data and inferences: under the first study, the data was analyzed for parking accumulation, usage of parking supply, parking load, turnover, etc. and for parking durations of different categories of vehicles. The analyses lead to identification of parking deficiencies 3

4 and requirements. Information incorporated in the questionnaire was analyzed with respect to parking characteristics, parking policies under consideration and the trip maker characteristics. Specific analysis was of responses to the parking duration restrictions and parking charges or penalties under different policy options. (e) Suggestions and Recommendations: The data analysis and the inferences drawn based on that helped in providing certain suggestions and recommending certain measures to control the problem of parking in the area. The aspects related to the stated intention analysis are now discussed in the following section. PARKING INTENTION SURVEY ANALYSIS The study area Rampura is quite big to conduct both types of surveys and hence it was divided into two parts. The parts were designated as Rampura-1 and Rampura-2. On the whole 722 interviews were conducted. The analysis presents the characteristics of the sample and the preferences of the parkers. Details can be read in Project Report (2002). Sample Characteristics The sample characteristics are presented in Table 1. Out of 722 samples taken, 711 samples are indicated in the table. Apart from these, there were five manual cycle-rickshaw pullers and six autorickshaw drivers who were also interviewed. The owners of motorized two-wheelers and bicycles themselves drove to the area. Around 32 to 50 percent cars were driven by employed drivers. The car occupancy was relatively higher in Rampura-2 area, the motorized two-wheeler occupancy was higher in Rampura-1 area and bicycle occupancy was found higher on Arya Samaj Road. Similarly, higher rate of motorized two-wheeler parkers were observed to be either graduate or above that. The literacy rate was lower in bicycle users. Characteristic Sample size Vehicle driven (in percent) Occupancy per vehicle Literacy level- Graduate and above Average age (in years) Table 1: Sample Characteristics in Different Parking Areas Study Area (Sample Size 711 Nos) Rampura-1 (239 Nos.) Rampura-2 (218 Nos.) Arya Samaj Road (254 Nos.) Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi % % % % NOTE: 2-w-m: motorized two-wheeler, Bi: manual bicycle % % % % % The categorization of trips by purpose and vehicle use is presented in Table 2. It was observed that almost half of the bicycles parked in the three areas belonged to workers. Bicycle use for educational trips was found much higher than any other mechanized mode of travel. The motorized two-wheelers were mostly used for shopping trips in Rampura area and for work trips on Arya Samaj Road. The cars were generally used for social or shopping trips. More work and social trips are observed in Rampura-1 area and on Arya Samaj Road, whereas, more shopping and educational trips are observed in Rampura-2 area. This indicates that specific land-use activities are carried out in the parts of study area. These would obviously affect the parking characteristics. 4

5 Purpose Work Education Social Shopping Table 2: Categorization of Trips by Purpose and Vehicle Use Trips (in percent) Rampura-1 Rampura-2 Arya Samaj Road Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi Analysis of Parkers Intentions The parkers intentions were analyzed with respect to the parking policies presented to the parkers in the two areas namely, Time Restricted Parking Policy, Time Dependent Parking Pricing Policy and Off-Street Parking Provision. The first two policies were restrictive in nature and the last one was a pure parking capacity augmentation. A detailed analysis of parkers intention survey is available to readers in Rastogi (2006). Here, in this paper some important aspects of this study are presented. The parkers perceptions about general parking characteristics are presented in Table 3. In general, parkers perceived relatively more parking spaces on Arya Samaj Road as compared to Rampura area. This perception was higher in case of bicycle parkers. In fact, car parkers indicated difficulty in getting a parking place in the study area. Most of the parkers indicated that it was easier to park vehicle in Rampura-2 area as compared to other areas. The worse parking condition was perceived in Rampura-1 area. Higher walking distances between the location of vehicle parking and the place of visit were found acceptable to the car parkers. This varied between 83 m, 47 m and 30 m for car, motorized two-wheeler and bicycle parkers category. Persons coming to the area with multiple assignments were observed parking their vehicles centrally between places of interest. Higher percentage of motorized two-wheeler and bicycle parkers in Rampura-2 area reported visit with multiple assignments. Table 3: Perception of Parkers regarding Characteristics of Parking Area Characteristics Rampura-1 Rampura-2 Arya Samaj Road Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi Car 2-w-m Bi 1. Availability of space a) Yes (in percent) b) No (in percent) Ease of parking a) V. easy (in percent) b) Easy (in percent) c) Ok (in percent) d) Not easy (in percent) e) Difficult 3. Acceptable average walking distance (m) 4. Reason of parking vehicle away from work place a) Space not available in front of work place (in percent) b) Locating centrally due to multiple work (in percent) The policy preferences of vehicle parkers are presented in Table 4. In general, motorized vehicle parkers from both the areas preferred off-the-street parking policy the most. Time restricted parking 5

6 policy was the next most preferred policy among motorized vehicle users and most preferred among non-motorized vehicle users. The time dependent pricing policy was the next most preferred policy among non-motorized vehicle users. One of the reasons that define the above behaviour better is the lesser width of the entry or exit roads to the study areas, which results in traffic congestion and circulation problems again and again. The implementation of any of the above policy measures will reduce the traffic related problems. Table 4: Preference of Parking Policies Presented to Parkers (in percent) Parking policy Rampura-1 Rampura-2 Arya Samaj Road Car 2-wm Bi Car 2-w- Bi Car 2-w- Bi 1. Time restricted parking policy 2. Time dependent pricing policy 3. Off-street parking policy 4. Not satisfied at all NOTE: Only first preference is indicated in the table Not reported due to lack of sufficient data. Following was observed from the analyses of responses to different questions presented to the vehicle parker : 01. Though free parking time of 60 minutes, as proposed in the survey under time restricted parking policy, was acceptable to majority of the motorized parkers, but they suggested keeping it around 120 minutes. The proposed penalty of Rs after free time of parking was not acceptable to the majority of vehicle parkers. Rather, they suggested the penalty ranging between 25 and 45 percent (Rs3 to 4) of the proposed. 02. The time dependent parking pricing was proposed for time duration, less than and equal to 90 minutes, between 90 minutes and 8 hrs, and above 8 hrs or full day. Parkers in different areas and of different vehicles showed varying behaviour. In general, the acceptability was 50:50. The suggested parking charges for the three time categories were around Rs3 / Rs2 / Rs1 for the parking duration of up to 90 minutes; Rs5 / Rs3 / Rs2 for the parking duration between 90 minutes and 8 hours; and Rs5 / Rs4 / Rs2 for the parking duration of above 8 hours, taking car, motorized two-wheeler and bicycle in order. 03. The parkers were presented two off-the-street parking facilities under off-the-street parking policy. The acceptable walking distance from the off-the-street parking to the place of interest was observed ranging between 213 and 259 m for car parkers and between 174 and 334 m for motorized two-wheeler parkers. In general, the parkers suggested the average walk distance of around 230 meters. Parkers suggested fee equal to half to two-third of what was proposed. It amounts to Rs. 2 and Rs. 3 for cars, Rs. 2 and Rs. 1 for motorized two-wheelers, and Rs. 1 for bicycles under the parking durations of less than equal to 4hrs and above 4 hrs, respectively. Analysis of Parking Accumulation and Duration The parking accumulation in the study area was observed as shown in Table 5. It was observed that the peak accumulation was occurring at around hrs and hrs on Arya Samaj Road, with volume being 5.5% of the total accumulation. In Rampura area, the peak accumulation was occurring around hrs and 16 hrs (± 30min), with volume being 5% and 5.5% respectively. Parking turnover with respect to maximum parking supply was 22 vehicles per space in Rampura-1 area (Max. parking supply = 132 car spaces), 13 vehicles per space in Rampura-2 area (Max. parking supply = 202 car spaces), and 15 vehicles per space (Max. parking supply = 142 car spaces). This indicates that Rampura-1 area has more activities as compared to other areas. 6

7 Table 5: Parking Accumulation in Study areas (Feb. 12, 2003, Normal working day, 8 20hr) Parking Accumulation (in PCUs and in percent) Area Car Motorized 2-w Bicycle Rickshaw Autorickshaw Hand cart Total Rampura 01. Rampura Rampura-2 Total % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % Arya Samaj Road 20.59% 56.59% 15.74% 3.02% 1.46% 2.60% % PCUs: Car 1.0; Motorized 2-w 0.40; Bicycle 0.25; Rickshaw 0.5; Autorickshaw 0.67; Hand cart 0.50 (Rastogi, 1990, 2002) Parking duration was analyzed based on the stated duration of stay as reported by those parkers who were interviewed. The stay duration ranged between values as small as 10 min and as high as 12 hours. Short-term parking was defined based on 4 hrs of stay and was equivalent to the one as used in one of the policy options. The parking duration in different parking area is shown in Table 6. Rampura-1 area shows larger variation in parking duration. Table 6: Stated Parking Duration in Study Area for Different Vehicle Categories Parking Duration Area Car Motorized 2-w Bicycle Combined Rampura 1. Rampura-1 2. Rampura-2 39 min s 1 hr 29 min 16 s 37 min s 1 hr 37 min 45 s 25 min s 1 hr 55 min 11 s 27 min s 1 hr 26 min 28 s 44 min s 4 hr 52 min 38 s 27 min s 1 hr 51 min 49 s 30 min 4.47 s 1 hr 42 min 35 s Arya Samaj Road 38 min s 1 hr 28 min 14 s 36 min s 1 hr 53 min 38 s 22 min 5.66 s 1 hr 23 min 9 s ANALYSIS OF PARKING STUDY 2002 As being defined before, this study was done with an objective of finding parking characteristics of Old Kota City. The two study areas under discussion were a part of the overall big study. The analyses included finding parking characteristics, parking space utilization, parking accumulation, parking indices, parking duration, etc. with respect to different vehicle categories. As per the scope of this paper only parking duration analysis is presented here for examining whether or not stated duration can be used for policy design purposes. Detailed analysis can be read in Project Report (2002). Duration analysis was based on the data collected through Registration Number Plate Technique in the study area after dividing it into parts as defined before. The cycle length for the collection of information was taken as 30 min in this study. It was 40 min in the already discussed study. The analysis involved both, the full-term and short-term parking duration apart from other computations. The computed parking duration for different categories of vehicles in the partitioned study area is presented in Table 7. 7

8 Table 7: Parking Duration in Study Area for Different Vehicle Categories Parking Duration Area Car Motorized 2-w Bicycle Combined Rampura 3. Rampura-1 c) Short-term d) Full Term 4. Rampura-2 c) Short-term d) Full Term 1 hr 02 min 02 s 1 hr 55 min 35 s 59 min 01 s 1 hr 34 min 07 s 1 hr 01 min 40 s 2 hr 09 min 22 s 1 hr 07 min 26 s 1 hr 30 min 33 s 1 hr 01 min 43 s 2 hr 08 min 03 s 1 hr 06 min 37 s 1 hr 30 min 54 s Arya Samaj Road c) Short-term d) Full Term 57 min 32 s 1 hr 33 min 46 s 39 min 17 s 56 min 59 s 40 min 26 s 59 min 19 s It was observed that parking duration was varying in different parts of the study area. The duration was least on Arya Samaj Road among the three locations and was highest in Rampura-1 area. As regard to parking duration by vehicle category, it was observed to be nearly same in Rampura area, whereas, on Arya Samaj Road parking duration of motorized 2-wheelers was observed to be lower that that of car. Further, it was found that the long-term parking duration on Arya Samaj Road was around 9 hrs as compared to 7 hrs in Rampura-1 and 5.5 hrs in Rampura-2 area. It was interesting to note that less than 5% and 10% long-term parkers on Arya Samaj Road and Rampura-2 area, respectively contribute towards one-third of vehicle-hour occupancy, whereas, in Rampura-1 area around 20% such parkers contribute to two-third of vehicle hour of occupancy. COMPARISON OF PARKING DURATIONS A comparison of the duration analysis is done and presented in Table 8. The duration observed during stated intention survey is examined with respect to the duration values computed during accumulation and duration study conducted in It is quite clear from the presented values that in most of the cases there is a large difference between the tow values. The parkers have either overstated or understated the duration. In general, it can be inferred that for short-term estimated values of duration, the parkers have understated the duration, whereas, for full-term duration the parkers have overstated the duration. In Rampura area, with respect to the combined information, the full-term values can be accepted. Table 8: Variation in Stated Parking Duration with respect to Parking Study 2002 Variation in Parking Duration (in percent) Area Car Motorized 2-w Bicycle Combined Rampura 5. Rampura-1 6. Rampura Arya Samaj Road NOTE: Bold values are acceptable, italic and bold values can be accepted

9 The trendline representing the relationship between the observed duration (year 2002, taken as x ) and stated duration (year 2003, taken as y ) were developed. The best fit was observed with a polynomial distribution that can be shown as: For Short-term duration analysis: Y = x x x x x (1) R 2 = For Full-term duration analysis: Y = x x x x (2) R 2 = CONCLUSIONS The analysis has shown that both the types of studies have their own advantages and disadvantages. The study conducted in the year 2002 can be treated as more reliable in terms of estimation of parking duration. It is difficult to state the expected time duration of an activity that would take place in an area if it were other than the work trip. It is because of the nature of that activity and the influence of third person in completing that activity. As whole of the study area has mixing of trips due to multiple activities, it was observed that in most of the cases the observed and stated duration values were not near to each other. An examination of data with respect to the trip purpose and its similar analysis can ascertain the effect of type of the activity on stated duration. Further, as can be seen from the relationships developed between the two duration values, the relationship for full-term analysis is much better and acceptable as compared to that of short-term analysis. But the short-term analysis conducted here was upto 4 hrs of parking duration. Looking at the types of the activities in which the visitors may get involved this duration needs to be redefined. It was thought of dividing the whole parking duration in at least three parts, the first having the parking duration of upto 1 hr (representing retail type activities), second having parking duration between 1 hr and 4 hrs (representing whole sale type activity) and above 4 hrs (representing long-term activities). The effect of such division on the relationship between observed and stated duration need to be analyzed. The above inferences make it clear that parking management of areas, having distinctive parking characteristics and multiple activities, is a complex problem. These can be controlled by the implementation of combination of policies. These policies can be examined before implementation for their probable success using stated intention survey. REFERENCES Census 2001, District Statistical Book, District Statistical Office, Kota. Project Report (2002). Analyzing parking policy options in shopping areas of Kota City. Unpublished BE thesis submitted to Civil Engineering Department, Engineering College Kota, Rajasthan, India. Project Report (2003). Analyzing parking policy options in shopping areas of Kota City. Unpublished BE thesis submitted to Civil Engineering Department, Engineering College Kota, Rajasthan, India. Rastogi, R. (2006), Preferences of vehicle parkers in Kota City A stated preference study. Indian Highways, 34(3), Indian Roads Congress, New Delhi, India,

10 Appendix-1 Survey questionnaire for stated intention survey CIVIL ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, ENGINEERING COLLEGE KOTA Project: Parking Analysis QUESTIONNAIRE Contact Person: Dr. Rajat Rastogi Tel.: (o), (R) Location: Day and Date: Parking Characteristics i) Time when vehicle parked: ii) Expected time of parking: iii) Type of vehicle: iv) Vehicle occupancy: v) Whether parked in front of shop/office/residence you want to visit: vi) If not then distance of shop/office/residence you want to visit: meters vii) Tick Reason for that: a) Space not available in front of shop/office/residence you want to visit Y / N b) Located centrally due to multiple shop/office/residence you want to visit viii) Availability of parking space in area: 1(very easily) 2 (easily) 3 (OK) 4 (not easy) 5 (difficult) ix) In case your answer is 3 or above indicate option you feel can improve the parking situation (give preferences): a) Time restricted parking within the area b) Time dependent parking pricing policy c) Off-street parking i.e. parking at reasonable distance from this area x) Time Restricted Parking Policy: According to previous year s parking study carried in this area the short term parking duration calculated is minutes. It is proposed to allow free of charge parking for minutes, which constitute percent of short-term parkers. A penalty would be placed if vehicle is found parked for more than above duration. Kindly provide your opinion on the following: a) Is the free of charge parking duration of minutes sufficient? Y / N b) If not what it should be? minutes c) Is the penalty of Rs. 10/hour for car/sc/mc and Rs. 5/hr for bicycle acceptable? Y / N d) If not what it should be? Car / Sc / MC - Rs. / hr Bicycle -Rs. /hr e) The charges for shop owners / employees should be Car / Sc / MC - Rs. / hr Bicycle -Rs. /hr xi) Time Dependent Parking Pricing Policy: Do you accept the following proposed parking charges? If not kindly suggest the acceptable parking charges. a) Parking charges up to short term parking duration of minutes: Car Rs.5 Sc/MC Rs. 3 Bicycle Rs. 2 b) Parking charges after short term parking duration of minutes and up to 8 hours: Car Rs.8 Sc/MC Rs. 5 Bicycle Rs. 3 c) Parking charges per day: Car Rs.10 Sc/MC Rs.7 Bicycle Rs. 5 xii) Off street Parking Policy: a) Off-street parking lot near Sarover picture hall or Rajasthan Bank /Arya Samaj may require walking of around 500 meters. What is the acceptable walking distance to you from the off-street parking lot to the area: meters b) Are following parking charges (per 4 hours) acceptable to you: Car Rs. 3 Sc / MC Rs. 2 Bicycle Rs. 1 c) Are following parking charges (per day) acceptable to you: Car Rs. 5 Sc / MC Rs. 3 Bicycle Rs. 2 d) Kindly suggest if you want to make any changes in above parking charges. Trip and Personal Characteristics i) Origin: ii) Purpose: iii) Time of start of trip: iv) Car driven / driving v) Age: yrs. vi) Sex: M / F vii) Education: viii) Income: 10