An empirical examination of the growing phenomenon of off-site residential car parking provision: The situation at UK airports.

Abstract: Parking management is a strategy that has been extensively employed by authorities and organisations world-wide in an attempt to address traffic-related congestion and associated environmental impacts at a variety of sites and scales. At airports, parking control and pricing regimes are used to generate revenue and manage traffic demand. On the supply side, within the last few years a new trend in unregulated off-site, predominately residential, car parking provision around UK airports has emerged and quickly grown in popularity. Through a survey of three UK-based self-styled ‘parking marketplace’ websites and an in-depth analysis of one, this paper provides an empirical examination of the growing phenomenon of off-site residential car parking provision around the UK’s 25 busiest passenger airports and discusses the potential implications of this niche but growing phenomenon. Data is provided on the supply and the demand for these alternative spaces, as well as their physical location, attributes, and pricing regimes. The empirical findings indicate that, while this currently represents a relatively small proportion of overall airport parking supply it is experiencing rapid growth and may become significant in the future. The paper concludes by contending that airport operators and local authorities need to be cognisant of the existence of, and the challenges and opportunities associated with, alternative parking provision in order to be able to better plan for, and respond to the planning, environmental, and consumer implications it may create. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]