Searching for parking: The case of Zurich

Abstract

This study analyzes the extent of parking search behaviour in Zurich, Switzerland using segmented and labelled GPS data collected from a smartphone-based GPS tracking app. The GPS data corresponding to over 1,000 car trips ending within the city of Zurich are map-matched to the underlying OSM road network, and the least-cost path between the trip start and end points are then computed on the same network, with the difference in path length assumed to be attributed to parking search behaviour. This excess travel distance is found to be marginal across all trips and equal to 100\thinspace m. However, it depends on both trip purpose and parking availability. Work trips exhibit the shortest excess distance (76 m), whereas leisure trips the longest (128 m). The availability of parking at home and type of parking at work also play a strong role, with on-street parking leading to longer excess travel.