Optimization of urban parking cooperation and pricing: a case of Harbin, China

Abstract

s: Urban parking conflicts in major cities are intensifying, and the issue of parking difficulties persists due to insufficient research into the key stakeholders in urban parking management: managers, operators, and parking users. This study fills this gap by exploring three collaborative models between managers and operators: contract operation, service procurement, and Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT). A tripartite game model of urban parking governance benefits is developed, based on the parking choice behavior of users. The model is applied to data from Harbin City to analyze the shifts in benefits among different stakeholder groups under various urban parking governance collaboration models. Case studies reveal three key findings: (1) under the current parking partnership model, price adjustments can lead to positive benefits for both managers and operators in the service procurement model; (2) in the other two models, managers’ benefits remain relatively stable before and after price adjustments; (3) operators’ benefits show more variability, while users’ benefits are minimally affected by the partnership model between managers and operators. This research provides new insights into resolving uncertainties in the cooperation models between parking lot managers and operators, and offers recommendations for improving urban parking governance.