Policy frames of Park-and-Ride in Europe

Transport congestion and the quality of the air in city centres is a major concern for urban planners. In recent years Park and Ride (P+R) facilities have been increasingly introduced by local authorities as an alternative for or addition to parking supply in the city centre. In this paper we present results of a survey amongst 45 major cities in Europe. We study how deployment of P+R is framed by policy makers within their broader transport policy. This paper offers three things. First, we report on present adoption levels of P+R. The survey outcomes reveal that P+R is adopted fairly unevenly across Europe. We find that a quarter of the responding cities are extensively engaged on implementing P+R, whereas another quarter has little or no engagement. It raises the question, if congestion is a problem present in most major cities across Europe, why adoption is so uneven? Therefore, secondly, we map out diversity inframing of P+R throughout European cities, by revealing current beliefs about it. We show how diversified policy-makers’ interpretation of P+R is. Thirdly, we track the salient beliefs underlying the policy frames that determine P+R implementation. Linear regression analysis suggests that economic implications of P+R, perceived demand for P+R, and organisational learning capabilities are the most important drivers for city governments whether or not to engage in P+R development, explaining 40% of the variance in their actual engagement in P+R deployment.