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Autonomous cars could take parking bonds for a ride

Autonomous cars could take parking bonds for a ride

WASHINGTON – Urban areas may have to turn to other resources to secure parking funds if autonomous vehicles take hold in the near future.

In a recent Fitch Ratings report, “The Effect of Autonomous Vehicles on Parking Assets,” the agency predicted that self-driving cars could have a negative effect on toll roads and urban parking.

However, Fitch Ratings Associate Director Anne Tricerri stressed that the timing and extent of the effect of autonomous vehicles on ratings remains uncertain.

In the report, analysts studied parking structures from Philadelphia to Miami to Colorado to access vulnerability to declines in demand for parking. A recent Fitch Ratings report says autonomous vehicles could reduce the demand for municipal parking. Parking assets in cities, which include on-street and off-street parking are expected to be the most vulnerable, Tricerri said. When cars are fully autonomous, they will most likely be restricted to a geo-fenced area.

Tricerri added some parking credits have double-barreled bonds, backed by parking revenues and taxes, which provides additional funding if there is a decline in revenue.

The effect would be a case by case basis depending on if cities plan to be innovative as autonomous vehicles come into focus, said Tricerri. Cities could have a more difficult time if technology catches on quickly, or have time to adapt if autonomous vehicles are slower to take effect, Tricerri said.

“We haven’t taken action on ratings,” Fitch Senior Director Chad Lewis said. “But we are closely monitoring the situation.”

Fitch analysts believe urban parking is most at risk because autonomous cars could drop off passengers and travel to cheaper parking on the outskirts of cities.Currently, infrastructure is lacking for autonomous vehicles and would need radars and cameras to digitally map out roads, according to the report. Brooks Rainwater, Senior Executive and Director of the National League of Cities Center for […]

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