The expansion of paid parking in Rotterdam is generating considerable debate and resistance. According to Giuliano Mingardo, Senior Researcher in Urban and Transport Economics at Erasmus School of Economics, however, parking policy is primarily about managing scarce public space. In an interview with the Rotterdam media outlet RTV Rijnmond, he explains why he believes paid parking is here to stay.
The difficult step from free to paid parking
Mingardo says he understands the strong emotions surrounding the expansion of paid parking. ‘Going from free to paid is a big step – people notice that.’ An increase in an existing parking charge, he argues, feels much less significant than the transition from free parking to having to pay. According to Mingardo, however, the primary purpose of paid parking is not to generate revenue. In a busy and growing city, public space is scarce and municipalities have to decide how it should be used. Pricing is one of the tools available to manage that space.
‘Free parking is also a form of subsidy’
Mingardo understands why some Rotterdam residents see motorists as a “cash cow”, but considers this an overly narrow interpretation. Revenue from parking goes into the municipality’s general budget and can be spent on a range of public services. He also points to the other side of the equation: free parking can be viewed as a subsidy for motorists, as they are able to use scarce public space without paying for it.
Preventing the problem from moving elsewhere
A key issue in parking policy is what Mingardo describes as the “waterbed effect”. When paid parking is introduced in one street or neighbourhood, motorists may move to nearby areas where parking remains free. Rather than solving the problem, this can simply shift it elsewhere. According to Mingardo, Rotterdam is deliberately taking a broader and more proactive approach by not waiting for parking problems to emerge in individual neighbourhoods. At the same time, he says there is room for debate about the scale and pace of the rollout.
More space for people
Mingardo does not see the expansion of paid parking as meaning that Rotterdam is becoming a city without cars. Instead, he sees the changing allocation of public space as a natural consequence of the city’s growth. Giving slightly less space to cars can, for example, create more room for greenery and people. And once introduced, paid parking is rarely reversed, Mingardo argues. ‘I know of no municipality that has ever reversed such a decision.’
About Giuliano Mingardo
Giuliano Mingardo specialises in parking policy and urban mobility. His research focuses on how people move in and around urban areas, and on how policy, spatial planning and the quality of the living environment can influence people’s mobility behaviour.
- More information
Click here for the interview with Giuliano Mingardo on the website of RTV Rijnmond (in Dutch).
For questions, please contact Ronald de Groot, Media & Public Relations Officer at Erasmus School of Economics: rdegroot@ese.eur.nl, 06 53 641 846.
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