I think that folks driving into the city from the countryside is really a very minimal part of the issue. No offense, but on any given day y'all are a drop in the bucket. It's really about the daily commuters who drive in from outside the city. The amount of space that needs to be devoted to accommodating them can really be quite impressive.
Here in Milwaukee, for example, the downtown area has essentially been choked off - there are office buildings, there are some hotels, there are a few eateries and pubs which specifically cater to the office workers and business travelers (many of them aren't even open on the weekends). And there is. . . parking. Lots and lots and lots and lots of parking. If you ever go down there at night, the parking is really the most noticeable thing because of the sense of void it creates. All these great huge swaths of the very core of a major urban center that are just completely empty. The feeling is downright oppressive; it's like being in a shopping mall where 30% of the storefronts are vacant.
It's really about the daily commuters who drive in from outside the city.
See, I was lumping myself in with that group. Park and ride schemes should, ideally, be attractive to commuters in the outer suburbs (many of the smaller British cities do a good job with this - Oxford, especially - just not any of the big ones I can think of).
Here in Milwaukee, for example, the downtown area has essentially been choked off - there are office buildings, there are some hotels, there are a few eateries and pubs which specifically cater to the office workers and business travelers (many of them aren't even open on the weekends). And there is. . . parking. Lots and lots and lots and lots of parking. If you ever go down there at night, the parking is really the most noticeable thing because of the sense of void it creates. All these great huge swaths of the very core of a major urban center that are just completely empty. The feeling is downright oppressive; it's like being in a shopping mall where 30% of the storefronts are vacant.