Cruising for parking: New empirical evidence and influential factors on cruising time

The goal of this study is to explore the perceptions and behaviours of drivers who cruise for parking. We conducted surveys with drivers in Brisbane, Australia, to understand potential factors that influence driver’s cruising behaviour. This study reveals that the errors in drivers’ perception of the parking cost are one of the leading factors encouraging drivers to cruise for on-street parking. Drivers are not necessarily well informed about parking costs, even when they claim to be familiar with these costs. The survey also reveals that the more informed drivers are about the local traffic and parking conditions, the less likely they are to cruise for extended periods of time. This finding demonstrates the value of traffic and parking information to effectively mitigate cruising for parking. The interview results also demonstrate that the on-street parking premium (i.e., accessibility or convenience factor) could be much larger than our common assumptions, and a significant contributor to increased cruising time. Finally, this study introduces the sunk cruising cost and its potential impact on cruising time. Our hypothesis is that the effect of sunk cost may be manifest in a greater tendency to continue cruising because the cruising time spent is simply unrecoverable past expenditure. The survey data supports our hypothesis, and with findings on the drivers’ misperception about the parking cost and the familiarity factor, this result highlights the value of accurate and timely parking cost and availability information to drivers to tackle the cruising for parking issue