It’s Getting Hot In Here

In September, Hasbro released the Monopoly: Here and Now edition of their classic board game (the best-selling boardgame in the world!). The goal was to remake the game as if it had been created in today, rather than in 1935. Millions of Americans voted, and Hasbro remade the game with new properties and playing pieces. Most excitingly, replacing the racecar of the 1935 and all since editions is the Toyota Prius hybrid car. Hasbro chose the Prius for many reasons, but partly because it recieved Motor Trend’s 2004 Car of the Year Award. Hasbro also recognized the excellent fuel economy of the Toyoto Prius and published on their website: “Gas mileage like that is even greater than landing on FREE PARKING!” If only Hasbro knew that in cities across the country, gas mileage like that DOES mean free parking. But other options may save us from parking at all!

In New Haven, Connecticut, all registered Toyota Prius owners no longer need to pay for parking. Though parking regulations of number of hours at a given spot must be followed, driving a Prius means no quarters in those meters and no parking tickets which means, in Monopoly terms, not needing to use those “get out of jail free” cards. Other cities with similar parking programs include Los Angeles and Alberquerque, New Mexico. In San Jose, drivers of hybrids don’t need to pay for parking on the street or in municipal lots. In Hartford, Connecticut, a program was tested to give 50% discounts for monthly parking in city lots to any car that gets an average of at least 30 miles per gallon on both city streets and the highway.

In October 2005, Baltimore, Maryland began a program to give hybrid owners a reduced rate for monthly parking fees with fifteen city parking garages participating. They receive up to $85 in discounts each month. Cities and states across the country are also giving hybrid drivers the added incentive of driving in high occupancy vehicles (HOV) carpool lanes. Virginia, Utah, Florida and California all have such programs.

These programs do encourage driving more fuel-efficient cars, but they also encourage driving! Cities and states should offer more subsidies to those drivers who leave the cars at home and take buses, trains, bikes, or their feet to work! Many companies are beginning to offer bike-to-work or walk-to-work plans, which decrease their need for building new parking lots, improve their company health, reduce dependence on foreign oil, and decrease carbon emissions. States and municipalities should offer similar incentives.

Monopoly also replaced the old boot with a New Balance shoe, and perhaps the greatest lesson should come from that — not only is New Balance the only athletic brand still producing shoes made in the United States, but encouraging the use of public transportation, walking and biking really is better than landing on free parking. It is parking your car (no matter how efficient) at home or not parking at all!