Riyadh – Mubasher: More than two-thirds of office workers in Saudi Arabia are willing to use public transportation to commute to work on a daily basis, if available, a recent study shows.
The KSA Office Occupier Survey, conducted by Raza, CoreNet, and JLL, showed that the average parking ratio for respondents’ offices is one parking space for every 44 square meters (sqm) of leased office space. This translates to an average of 14.1 sqm per staff, which means the Saudi market offers around one parking space for every three employees.
“A ratio of one parking space for every 44 sqm of leased office space across Saudi Arabia is competitive on a regional scale. For comparison, in markets such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, the ratio is typically one parking space for every 50 sqm of leased office space. If Landlords and Developers are able to offer ratios lower than the market average, it can be a unique selling point used to attract tenants,” said Jack Cone, Founder of the CoreNet Saudi Arabia Chapter and Senior Analyst at JLL.
“67% of tenants indicated they would be willing to use alternatives to private cars like the metro, bus shuttles, and ride-hailing services. This suggests there is a real opportunity for employers and landlords to form transit partnerships that offer solutions to chronic parking and traffic frustrations in the big cities” according to John Harris, Director of Property and Asset Management at Raza.
Moreover, the survey results showed overall satisfaction with office facilities and services with a room for improvement in terms of office density and the use of open workspaces.
