Erez Cohen

Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

E-mail: erze@ariel.ac.il

The increase in the number of vehicles and the shortage of parking in Israel’s urban areas - economic and political factors

Abstract. This study addresses the growing increase in the number of vehicles in Israel and the resulting shortage of parking in city centers. Israel was chosen as a case study because it is a country with rapid population growth, a concentration of residents in central areas, and inefficient public transportation, which constitute explicit causes of the trends presented in the study. The study seeks to portray the implicit causes underlying the increasing number of vehicles in Israel and of the shortage of parking in city centers. The research method combines quantitative and qualitative techniques. The quantitative part includes analysis of data on vehicle density in various cities in Israel and on the number of parking offenses resulting from the shortage of parking in city centers. The vehicle density index per 1,000 Residents for each city will be calculated by multiplying the total number of Private Cars Registered in the city by the total Number of city’s Residents and multiplying by 1000. At the same time, the Number of Parking Reports data which presented in the study has been obtained from the local authorities themselves, which may cause to biased information according to the interests of those authorities. The qualitative part includes examination of the resultant public policy affecting the increase in vehicles. The data set will include the vehicle and fuel taxation policy. The research conclusions show that the increase in vehicles is affected among other things by economic and political factors that contribute to this growing trend and prevent its restriction, respectively. This study calls to the decision makers to promote and develop public transportation and correct its failures. Israel's public transportation services remain afflicted by many faults that contribute to residents' significant and increasing dependency on private vehicles. A large part of the public transportation means are too crowded, bus and train services do not run frequently enough, and the service is slow. There are insufficient connections between the different means of public transportation, with low access to stations among relatively large parts of the population and there is still a shortage of the necessary personnel and infrastructure for it's develop. In addition, the research conclusions call for a political solution that will make it possible to operate public transportation on Saturdays, while also expanding the use of self-driving cars and allocating outlying parking areas together with rental services for electric scooters and bicycles or shuttle services to city centers.

Received: September, 2022

1st Revision: March, 2023

Accepted: June, 2023

DOI: 10.14254/2071-789X.2023/16-2/3

JEL Classification: A12, D78, F68

Keywords: car parking, traffic congestion, political instability, public policy, economic incentives