Case analysis of simultaneous concessions of parking meters and underground parking facilities

The ongoing discussions of a city, where potential bidders for the concessions of on-street and off-street parking questioned separate bids procedures recalled our attention; in addition, willing to satisfy public demands the municipality planed to keep free spaces in the same area. In this article we assess the impact of joint concessions of parking meters and underground parking facilities, firstly by considering a radial pattern around the location of the underground facility, and secondly by proposing GA which analyzes different patterns. The results corroborate that providing free parking generates excess demand and high cruising for parking. Furthermore, they support joint provision of above ground and underground parking concessions because otherwise there can be too high level of competition in a small area, which may erode potential bidders incentives -specially when local authorities expect that the concession rights be reinvested into social needs. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.