Solving China's parking puzzle

The Parking China event offers emerging management sector a chance to share best practice

Traffic in Beijing (World Bank)

Traffic in Beijing (World Bank)

There are times, when stuck in a queue at a car park or circling the streets of a town centre on a busy shopping day, that most drivers probably feel there are more cars than parking spaces. In China, that equation seems to be reality.

In 2014, over 154 million private cars were registered in China, but the number of available official parking spaces was less than 100 million. According to international standards, approximately 1.4 parking spaces should be allocated to every one car. 

In urban areas of China, there are over 50% more vehicles than available parking. This discrepancy is widening quickly and the shortage is becoming more severe with the ongoing increase in car ownership and limited urban space. Demand for parking solutions also extends beyond city centres to urban residential districts.

Scarce parking availability is fuelling surge in demand for parking facilities, but an awareness of other solutions is growing.

Seeking solutions

The public sector is seeking ways to curb demand and manage traffic. City authorities are building more car parks, but also turning to demand management policies. To date, 44 cities in China have introduced revenue control and parking management. 

The Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) has looked at China’s parking problem in detail. Its Parking Guidebook for Chinese Cities, published last year, started: “In many Chinese cities, parking issues are moving to the forefront of urban concerns. Drivers complain about parking shortages, and illegal parking is on the rise. The problem is frequently over-simplified as a shortage of places to park, in which case there is a clear solution: provide more parking spaces.”

However, the ITDP notes that there is a recognition that building more parking is not the solution. “As Chinese cities recognise that parking policy affects these broader policy areas, they are seeing the problems of their traditional approach. Many are beginning to recognise that far from solving their parking and traffic problems, increasing parking supply and requiring developers to meet minimum parking thresholds has exacerbated the very problems they are trying to solve.”

A new management sector

The imbalance between supply and demand means that China has seen the emergence of a rapidly growing parking management sector, which is creating car parks for both public and residential use. 

There has also been a rapid take-up of technological solutions. There has been investment in engineering solutions to the parking demand problem, with over 400 mechanised parking garages now operating across the country. There is also growing interest in digital solutions, with Chinese parking operators following the development of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, smart cities and Intelligent Mobility.

The emergence and convergence of a parking problem, marketplace and profession has created the environment for a meeting place in which to share best practice and innovative ideas. Such a meeting place is Parking China, an exhibition that takes place in Shanghai during May.

A new show

Parking China, which will be held at the National Exhibition and Convention Centre in Shanghai between 10-13 May, is being organised by Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai) in partnership with Langfang Conference & Exhibition.

Lucia Wong, deputy general manager of Messe Frankfurt (Shanghai), said: “Economic development has fostered more commercial dynamics and activities in China. And improving living standards have given rise to the presence of more car owners. Both of these factors have led to huge parking shortages and growing demand for more advanced parking facilities in the country.

“Given the steady growth of the parking industry in China, the creation of a professional trade platform is necessary. Parking China will offer a series of seminars and conferences to encourage knowledge exchange and networking. Moreover, to cope with the rising demand for advanced parking facilities, the show’s theme ‘Smart Parking’ will focus on helping participants tap this high potential market.”

The Parking China exhibition will feature access and revenue control systems, mechanical parking systems and components, smart parking management systems, safety and signalling equipment for parking facilities, as well as charging systems for alternative energy vehicles. 

The event is expected to attract real estate developers, investors, property managers, owners’ committees, car park operators, urban planners, architectural design institutes, traffic management leadership teams, transportation operation committees, building contractors, contractor and supervisory agencies, dealers, distributors and agents. 

Parking China runs concurrently with the 12th World Elevator & Escalator Expo. Ma Zhen Tao, general manager of Langfang Conference & Exhibition, reports that the previous edition of World Elevator & Escalator Expo attracted more than 100,000 visitors. “Visitors were mainly developers, property management units, city planners, dealers and agents. Exhibitors and visitors of Parking China will definitely benefit from the synergies generated by the two fairs,” he said.

www.parking-china.com.cn