It was suggested in the questionnaire that should a cash-
out scheme be implemented, there were a number of
possible ways of giving up the parking space. The first
option was to give up the space permanently and receive a
substantial one-off cash payment but it was made clear
they could never again park at the workplace. The second
option was to give up the space on an annual basis for
h1300 for the year but if they chose this option they could
not change their mind and choose to park again at the
work place until the following year. The third option was
to give up the parking space on a monthly basis and receive
h100 for the month but they could not choose to park
again until the following month. The final option was to
give up the space on a daily basis and receive h4 for the day
and have the option of choosing on each day whether you
would like to park or take the cash value. The preferences
given to each option are presented in Fig. 1. As expected, giving up the space permanently is the least popular with
75% of the group giving it preference 4 (least favoured). In
the case of giving up the space for a year and receiving the
relevant payment, over 30% give this a preference of 1 or 2
indicating some acceptance of it as a demand management
strategy. To put this in context, in the case of reducing
congestion in urban areas, relatively small reductions in
overall car trips can make significant improvements and so
this result is encouraging. However, the subtlety of this
point in relation to the absolute benefits of this policy
considered in isolation is worth noting i.e. if congestion is
reduced, fewer individuals may be willing to give up their
car parking space. This is a difficulty with many demand
management strategies but perhaps if this strategy was used
in conjunction with other strategies as part of an integrated
transport policy programme, the effects may not induce a
negative overall impact. In the case of giving up the space
each week, almost 80% give this either a preference of 1 or
2. Finally, in the case of giving up the space for a day, while
one would expect this to receive the highest number of first
and second preferences combined, what is interesting is the
number of individuals giving it a third or fourth
preference—over 30%.