Park and ride for the future

Matthew Barron, MSc student in the School of Geography and Planning has been awarded the John Heasman Bursary Prize for his thesis on parking research.

Matthew looked at the potential demand for park and ride services in Cardiff in light of the new metro system, and worked closely with the Welsh Government. His work investigated whether tram based park and ride would be more or less successful at encouraging modal shift away from the private car than bus based Park & Ride in the South East Wales region.

Commenting on his work Matthew said: "My study found that all else being equal, light-rail park and ride would be more attractive to commuters travelling to Cardiff followed by bus-rapid-transit and then bus-based park & ride system.

“The parking and traffic management sector is an under-researched area, and one which covers a vast range of subjects and issues.  Innovations like the John Heasman Bursary have helped generate the evidence available, which I hope will inform improved traffic management in the future.”

Matthew was awarded the Prize Fund, part of the British Parking Association’s John Heasman Bursary, which provides Graduate and Postgraduate students with the opportunity to propose a piece of work they've undertaken relating to the parking and traffic management sector.

The parking profession’s current priorities for further research are:

• Provision of seamless access
• Payment and information systems
• Impact of intelligent mobility including: autonomous vehicles, data sharing, electric vehicles, shared mobility
• Accessibility for disabled people
• Multi-use of spaces
• The true cost of ‘free parking’ in the UK
• The impact of pavement parking

For more information and how to apply for the Bursary please see the British Parking Association’s website http://www.britishparking.co.uk/John-Heasman-Bursary