A Model of Parking Choice and Behavior

With growing auto traffic and scarce land in most Chinese cities, parking guidance systems (PGS) are becoming increasingly valuable for reducing congestion and making efficient use of existing parking facilities. This paper contributes to the growing parking choice literature by proposing a two-phase parking model for pre-trip PGS with an application based on a parking behavior survey conducted in Nanjing, China. Our two-phase parking choice model simulates parking choice behavior in real-world situations; it searches all available parking options based on maximum acceptable walking distance to the driver's destinations, and selects optimal routes based on five criteria including distance, safety, convenience, cost, and accessibility. Our modeling approach can help drivers select optimal parking spaces with the benefit of detailed pre-trip route information.