Buying a Car？Get a Parking Space First

　　China’s capital city Beijing is mulling over a new rule to require a permanent parking space as a mandatory prerequisite to buy a new car. This is another hurdle for car purchasers after the car plate lottery policy introduced in 2010 to keep the number of vehicles on road under 6 million by 2017.

　　The parking space policy， expected to be introduced in 2016， seeks to improve the use of parking lots， ease traffic snarls and control pollution， according to Zhang Yankun， Deputy Mayor of Beijing.

　　The capital’s cars far outnumber its parking spaces. Although there is a license plate lottery policy in place to restrain car ownership， Beijing is still experiencing an ongoing rapid increase of car purchases. Statistics by the municipal transport authority show that， as of 2014， the city had 5.59 million vehicles， but only around 2.9 million parking spaces.

　　The proposed regulation has become the center of a heated public debate. Supporters say it will cure issues of illegal parking and traffic congestion by containing the growth of car ownership. On the flip side， others question the effectiveness and fairness of the policy and argue that such a rule will lead to speculation in parking space.

　　Pro

　　Wang Limei

　　Secretary General， China Road Transport Association

　　It is one of the means to contain the growth of vehicles in Beijing. If there is no parking space， there should be no new cars as Beijing is unable to deal with such a rapid increase in car purchases.

　　Requiring a parking space before buying a car will solve the problem of illegal parking. To escape paying parking fees， some drivers keep their cars in places where parking is forbidden， like sidewalks. But with individual parking spaces a must， this will be corrected.

　　The new rule is good for better management on car parking and car purchases. For example， some people buy or rent parking spaces， while others take unfair advantage of public roads or community spaces to park their cars. The rule will uphold the prior rights of parking space owners to buy cars.

　　Admittedly， the rule may lead to a mad parking space purchase spree and send prices rocketing. However， the government can introduce supervisory policies to prevent this. It can make the process of issuing parking space documents transparent and prevent people from faking the documents.

　　Con

　　Huang Ling

　　Xinjiangnet.com.cn

　　Indeed， in some foreign cities， residents are only allowed to buy cars on the premise of having parking space. It is feasible because there are fewer vehicles and abundant parking spaces which are easy to get. However， the scenario in Beijing is totally different. Parking space is a scarce resource here， just like car license plates. Even if there are some， they are extremely expensive. Moreover， if you have bought a parking place but had no luck in the license plate lottery， it means you wasted a large sum of money and a precious parking space. It is a big loss both for the individual and society.

　　Another concern is how to prevent parking information counterfeits. Fake parking documents will disturb market order. In that case， the rule won’t contribute to constraining car ownership.

　　Besides， what does “having” a parking space mean exactly？ Does it have to be purchased？ Or is it ok to rent one？ The rule is simply creating more administrative red tape in car purchase， which bucks the trend of streamlining administration by reducing the number of activities requiring government approval.

　　In fact， license plate lottery is already a mature policy to contain car ownership. To slow down the buying rate， it is more feasible to adjust the lottery quota on the basis of the ratio between local cars and parking spaces. Or the government can abolish the lottery and make the acquisition of parking space the only requirement for buying a car after establishing more parking facilities.

　　Pro

　　Wang Jiangyan

　　Executive Director， China Sustainable Transportation Center

　　In Beijing， the residential and business areas are densely populated and lack facilities like parking spaces. So the “parking space first” policy in car purchase will effectively reduce congestion downtown. With its implementation， it won’t be so difficult to find a parking space. People have to make sacrifices， such as using public transportation vehicles rather than driving private cars， to live in downtown areas where parking spaces are scarce. This is a widely adopted measure in big international cities to ease traffic congestion.

　　Con

　　Li Sihui

　　Media commentator

　　Technically， whether to buy a car or not is a matter of personal choice. The government should not set prerequisites. Just as you can’t ask people to buy cooking pots before buying rice， you can’t make it necessary for all car purchasers to have a garage. Car buyers do have an obligation to reduce the parking space pressure for public benefit and the city’s development. But the obligation is not mandatory or exclusive. The government， society and public have a joint obligation to make sure there are enough parking spaces for newly bought cars.

　　The issues faced by a city can’t be addressed by individuals alone. The essence of city governance is to solve problems individuals are unable to solve. The average price of a parking space in Beijing is about 170，000 yuan ($27，400). One in the downtown area exceeds 500，000 yuan ($80，500). How can an ordinary citizen afford it？

　　The new rule is illegitimate. For one thing， it excludes the wage earners from enjoying the convenience of having an automobile， which is unfair. For another， if it is enforced， it will be seen as the government passing the buck to individuals.

　　Currently， there are a lot of things the government can do， for example， increase the number of parking spaces in malls， business districts and residential areas. The car-to-parking-space ratio in old neighborhoods is only 1：0.3， or even 1：0.1. Even in the newly established ones， no more than 80 percent of cars have parking spaces.

　　How to guarantee the validity of parking space documents is another bone of contention. Who has the right to issue these documents？ Is it the property management companies or government departments？ Are they accountable for the documents they issue？ Do they have credibility？ We have to make sure that issuing parking space documents won’t breed corruption.

　　Pro

　　Liang Bo

　　Beijing resident

　　I live in a neighborhood where the residential buildings were completed in the early 1990s. Only a few parking spaces were designed and built. Most of us have to park our cars in narrow walkways or places not meant for parking. Even so， you may find no place available when coming home late. Sometimes， your car may be in the way and run the risk of being damaged. If every car has a fixed parking place， these issues won’t exist. In this sense， the new rule will stop illegitimate parking， safeguard the interests of both car owners and those who don’t have cars， and help create a harmonious neighborhood. I think what the government can do is to crack down on illegal parking and to supervise parking fees.

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