Prepaid parking vouchers, known as parking cards, were introduced for on-street parking in the City of Bath in October 1987, the first use of such a system in Great Britain. The Transport and Road Research Laboratory (TRRL) has carried out attitudinal and parking activity surveys both before and after the implementation of the scheme in collaboration with the County of Avon. The surveys covered designated on-street parking places, unrestricted kerb lengths, yellow lines and off-street car parks. The principal findings are: (1) In locations where parking cards applied, the number of parking acts, parking duration and kerbside occupancy were all lower, even though there was an increase in available on-street spaces; (2) Drivers found it easier to find somewhere to park both on-street and in car parks. The average time to find an on-street parking space had almost halved; (3) The proportion of vehicles exceeding the time limit decreased; (4) On yellow lines, occupancy and duration were lower; (5) No change in the total number of parking acts in Bath was detected; and (6) In locations where parking cards applied, about a quarter of the parking acts were illegal because a card had not been displayed. The County Council have decided to retain the scheme permanently. (A)
Abstract