A new micro-simulation multi-class on-street parking search model

s study investigates the behavior of drivers looking for an on-street parking space in an urban area. It introduces a cost function with a cascade structure which evaluates theperceived cost of searching a sequence of streets where the availability of a parking place is probable as a function of the costs associated with driving from home to the parking place and walking from parking place to work, and the probability that a driver assigns to finding an empty on-street parking spot. Drivers looking for a parking space are classified into three categories: optimistic drivers who are not familiar with the destination district, drivers equipped with an ICT device allowing them to aim from an available parking place before arrival, and finally commuters who visit the destination zone frequently whose experience over time allows them to assign a probability of finding a free on-street parking place to each street segment. The search behavior of each category of drivers is modeled, and studied in depth.

Keywords:

Parking search behavior , On-street parking , Parking micro-simulation