Date: March 30th
Time: 7-8pm Eastern Time (US & Canada)

The Parking Reform Network is excited to welcome Cheryl Cort, the Policy Director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth to speak about the campaign for a Washington D.C. bill to require parking cash-out as part of employee commuter benefits. The “Transportation Benefits Equity Amendment Act” passed in April 2020 requires employers who provide free or subsidized parking to also offer benefits to employees who choose other ways to commute to work, such as taking transit, walking or biking. In a city where most residents don’t even drive to work, this is a big victory!

Why should parking reformers pay attention to parking cash-out? For starters, parking cash-out can reduce the need for new or existing employee parking and the costs of leasing more space. Secondly, parking reform policies sometimes can clash with drivers who want free or plentiful parking, or communities that have limited transportation options, as it may be unclear what the immediate benefit is to them. However, parking cash-out is one idea that may quickly find supporters from more diverse groups. As Donald Shoup (who first developed the idea) wrote, parking cash-out comes close to the goal of pareto optimality:

Parking cash-out makes many people better off while making few, if any, worse off. Commuters are better off because they get a flexible new fringe benefit, one that allows each person to choose the commute option best for her or him. Employers are better off because offering the new fringe benefit costs them little or nothing, and helps to attract and retain workers. The government is better off because tax revenues increase with no change in the tax rates. Finally, society is better off with less traffic and cleaner air. Economists describe a change as “Pareto optimal” if it makes some people better off without making others worse off—a great asset in public policy.

Shoup, Donald “Parking Cash Out”

Sounds like a win-win for all! Join this free event and get some insights on how parking cash-out can be won in your city: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcoce2srzMuH9HdHfw-w5BelLGF-guiwhnM

We’ll have a Q&A and breakout session with Cheryl after her presentation.

This free event is made possible by members like you.