Desperately Seeking Parking
33% of urban traffic is actively seeking a parking space.
~ Donald C. Shoup (1938-08-24 age:79)Think how much energy that is wasting. What solutions are there?
- Computers that know where the parking spots are and direct cars to them.
- Self driving cars that park themselves far away where there is ample parking and come when you call them.
- Self-driving taxis. You get out and the taxi drives off to another fare. It usually has no need to park.
- One-passenger vehicles for urban transport. Three of them could fit in a conventional parking spot. My informal survey of traffic showed nearly all vehicles traveling through my city had no passengers. The vehicles were every imaginable size. What a waste to use 5 tonnes of metal to cart around a 100kg driver!
- Automated parking garages where cars are packed like sardines by robots.
- Banning cars from the city core. You must use taxis or public transport.