The impact of ride hailing on parking (and vice versa)

Abstract

Investigating emerging transportation services is critical to forecasting mode choice and providing appropriate infrastructure. One such infrastructure is parking, as parking demand may shift with the availability of ride-hailing services. This study uses ethnographic methods—complemented with passenger surveys collected when driving for Uber and Lyft in the Denver, Colorado, region—to gather quantitative and qualitative data on ride-hailing and analyze the impacts of ride-hailing on parking, including changes in parking demand and parking as a reason to deter driving. The study also examines relationships between parking time and cost. This includes building a classification tree-based model to predict the replaced driving trips as a function of car ownership, destination land type, parking stress, and demographics. The results suggest that: i) ride-hailing is replacing driving trips and could reduce parking demand, particularly at land uses such as airports, event venues, restaurants, and bars; ii) parking stress is a key reason respondents chose not to drive; and iii) respondents are generally willing to pay more for reduced parking time and distance. Conversely, parking supply, time, and cost can all influence travel behavior and ride-hailing use. This study provides insight into potential benefits and disadvantages of ride-hailing as related to parking.