Parking policy and (un)sustainable development in Indian cities

Abstract

‘Parking’ laws in India doesn’t get that much attention or scrutiny that they deserve. Parking laws or parking is important for multiple reasons. Firstly, it is one the factor that influence automobile ownership and its uses. If commuter can’t find a parking spot at destination, there is no point commuting by personal vehicle. So, abundant parking in the country can motivate vehicle ownership. On the other hand, it also disincentivized public mode of transportation. To put it in other terms, in absence of abundant parking, commuters will look for alternate mode of transportation, may it be public or sharing mode of transportation. Secondly, with limited land mass and ever-increasing population, India ought to optimize its land use. We don’t have the luxury to waste land parcels on creating unnecessary parking lots. This creates a inequity in the society where land is being reserved for riches which might be used for social endeavors. Through his study we have tried to examine if parking laws in India have any scientific rational behind it. This becomes important as there is global push for sustainable development which encompasses sustainable mode of transportation. In order to use parking policy as a tool to promote sustainable transportation, we have examined government parking legislation and organizational parking policies in India and compared them with international best practices. In this study we have also looked at parking policies from another angle of employer- employee relationship. These policies play a crucial role in deciding mode of commute for employees to their workplace. These policies can be leveraged to nudge employees towards using more sustainable mode of transportation.