— Jacob Baby

(The Indian Express has launched a new series of articles for UPSC aspirants written by seasoned writers and scholars on issues and concepts spanning History, Polity, International Relations, Art, Culture and Heritage, Environment, Geography, Science and Technology, and so on. Read and reflect with subject experts and boost your chance of cracking the much-coveted UPSC CSE. In the following article, Jacob Baby, an urban planner with experience in teaching and research, analyses the importance of priced parking for urban mobility.)

The Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) proposed a hike in parking charges in Delhi’s Lutyens area as a way to combat pollution from emissions caused by private motorised vehicles. This relatively simple policy measure revives the debate about whether parking should be free or paid in Indian cities. Parking charges can be controversial, but on a deeper level, it’s important to ask: to whom do the spaces in our cities belong?

The arrival of automobiles radically reshaped cities across the world. Studies in North America show that cars were initially viewed with scepticism, but eventually, due to massive lobbying by automobile manufacturers and allied interests (“motordom”), space was carved out for cars within the city. This meant dedicated parking spaces, roadways, and an entire system to manage and circulate traffic. 

In Indian cities, the automobile’s impact was slightly different; while it coexisted with pedestrians, cyclists, and others, vehicles were relatively fewer. However, since the liberalisation in the 1990s, automobiles — especially motorised two-wheelers like scooters and motorcycles — have proliferated rapidly. These vehicles are reliable, affordable and push users away from using public transport.

In Indian cities, the rising number of vehicles has led to increasing demands for parking spaces. Most vehicle users believe parking should be free, arguing that they already pay substantial taxes – such as road and fuel taxes — thus covering their share of road use. However, free parking consumes a critical and often scarce resource in cities: land. Urban land is prime real estate, used for multiple purposes and by many people. Therefore, it must be priced to ensure the most efficient use. 

A single car park (3x5m or 4x5m) takes up roughly 15-20 square metres, meaning that 100 parking spots occupy around 1,500 square metres. For comparison, the size of a single affordable housing unit under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana Housing Programme is 30 square metres, highlighting the high opportunity cost of building parking spots. This is what urban planning expert Professor Donald Shoup terms “the high cost of free parking”.

Putting aside the economics of parking, let’s examine what happens when cities invest in free parking.

As more space is allocated to parking, cities become more favourable for vehicles and less so for those who walk, cycle or use public transport. 

In historic parts of Indian cities, like Ahmedabad’s old city or Chandni Chowk in Delhi, vehicles parked on the streets take away space from pedestrians. These parts of the city, built before the arrival of vehicles, are dense, mixed-use areas and can easily be traversed on foot. With vehicles taking over the streets, walking becomes a challenge, constantly negotiating between parked and moving vehicles. 

When cities supply more parking, they expand distances between jobs, services, and amenities, making vehicles necessary. Abundant parking also encourages more people to drive, disincentivising public transport, walking, and cycling.

This article does not advocate for eliminating all parking in the city but rather for rational, efficient management of urban land. Priced parking ensures that those who choose to park their vehicles can do so at a fair cost. An effective parking policy determines how high parking prices should be and how to manage parking efficiently. 

In some cities around the world, a 10-minute parking spot can cost up to $20-30 during peak hours, ensuring dedicated bays are available for those who need them most and discouraging “cruising” for parking (i.e. going around the block to find a parking spot). Paid parking also nudges people to leave their cars and use walking, cycling, or public transport instead.

Several Indian cities have started exploring paid parking. Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) has approved a policy to manage on-street parking (parking alongside footpaths) through parking fees. Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) adopted a tiered pricing policy, identifying high, medium, and low-demand areas and setting prices accordingly. 

Dynamic pricing — where parking prices fluctuate with demand — is also being considered. Chennai, Bengaluru, and Mumbai are exploring digital payment options for parking services. These cities are also considering privately operated parking lots; issuing residential parking permits and revising parking space estimates in urban regulations.

While these are all welcome moves to manage parking in cities to reduce congestion, incentivise public transport and effectively manage city space, parking policies need stronger administrative backing and public support to be truly successful. In Indian cities, the management of streets involves various institutions, from traffic departments to urban local bodies and public works departments. 

Many street design standards, like those from the Indian Roads Congress, may also need updating, as they were created to meet increasing vehicular demand. Additionally, private agencies must help develop digital infrastructure for parking payments, an area where city governments have limited capacity. A clear implementation pathway for enforcement, regulation, and operations is essential for a successful parking policy.

Lastly, where does the revenue from parking fees go? Most experts argue that the revenue from parking fees should support public transport and incentivise people to adopt walking and cycling for short trips. By limiting parking spaces, cities can evolve into more compact spaces where jobs, housing and services are close by, making it easier for people to navigate their daily activities on foot or pedal. 

There are several case studies from cities around the world that show how removing parking spaces can transform those areas into lively public spaces filled with multiple activities. A car-dominated city is boring and exclusionary, while walkable cities are lively and humane spaces for people to inhabit.

Free parking represents an inefficient use of city land, chaining a city’s future to the car. It’s encouraging that Indian cities are starting to recognise the serious consequences of car-dominated planning, and the first step to loosening that grip is to price parking.

What are the implications of free parking on the efficiency of urban land use, and how can pricing parking spaces help?

How does the space required for parking compare to the space needed for affordable housing units under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana?

What is the “high cost of free parking,” as explained by urban planning expert Professor Donald Shoup?

What could be the long-term impact of adopting dynamic pricing for parking in terms of congestion and emissions?

(Jacob Baby is a doctoral researcher in Concordia University, Canada, and explores matters related to urban planning in India.)

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