BEIJING IS PLANNING TO OPEN THE PARKING LOTS in residential and government compounds to the public under manageable circumstances and charge non-registered drivers, according to the city's latest draft regulation on parking management. Legal Daily commented on Wednesday:

The "shared parking" proposal by the Beijing authorities highlights the shortage of public parking spaces in the capital. However, many of the capital's parking spaces are underused or not used at all during certain periods of the day. Statistics show that some 630,000 parking spaces in downtown Beijing, where most drivers have to fight for parking in the day, lie idle during night hours.

More efficient use of parking spaces in the capital would benefit city planners and drivers alike. Shanghai had more than 2,100 parking spaces available for sharing by the end of last year, and the app-enabled trial has proved to be successful. Other cities suffering from chaotic parking have good reason to follow its example.

It is estimated that over 50 million new parking spaces are needed in China, of which 3.55 million are needed in Beijing. The capital had 5.48 million vehicles but only 1.93 million parking spaces last year.

According to the National Development and Reform Commission, the ratio of cars to parking spaces is around 1:0.8 in China's major cities and 1:0.5 in smaller cities. The figure in developed countries is about 1:1.3.

Shared parking has the potential to make the most of the parking spaces in some government departments and residential communities that are normally not accessible to non-registered vehicles. It is a step that has to be made when the space available for new parking facilities is limited.