Permit Parking and Car Sharing

October 20th, 2012
car_sharing, permit_parking, transport
In towns with permit parking residents can get permits that allow them to park in any residential spot in the town. Very convenient. If you use a car sharing service instead of owning a car, however, permit parking is off limits [1]. People using these services decrease the demand for parking in that they increase the residents-to-cars ratio, so conveniences that apply to owning but not sharing are harmful.

Proposal: towns with permit parking change their laws so that residents who don't own a car may sell their permits to car sharing services. Being able to rent a zipcar with Somerville, Cambridge, and Boston permits would be awesome.


[1] You generally can't use your visitor parking permit on a car that you've rented. And even if you do, visitor permits are usually zoned much more tightly than resident permits.

Comment via: google plus, facebook, substack

Recent posts on blogs I like:

On AI writing in 2026

I use AI to write a little bit: I ask it for high level feedback on blog post drafts, make mechanical edits, and sometimes use it to brainstorm options for wording at a paragraph level. It’s unusual that I accept its wording or changes without modificatio…

via Home April 16, 2026

Some considerations on whether my job is evil

I. On an average weekend, only 1 in 20 Americans go to a party.

via Thing of Things April 14, 2026

Microfictions

A few microfictions, very much inspired by Quiet Pine Trees. I hope to add more over time. No LLMs.

via Evan Fields March 27, 2026

more     (via openring)