University of California Institute of Transportation Studies

Drawing on the California Household Travel Survey, we demonstrate strong associations between choosing to drive and having free parking at work or home. We find that the median household vehicle in California spends 22 hours a day parked, and that households with parking included in the rent or purchase price of their homes are more likely to drive,and less likely to use transit. We further find that employees with free parking at work are more likely to drive for their commutes. We estimate regressions that analyze the decision to work from home. Largely for data reasons, these regressions are less conclusive.