The lowdown on the high price of parking

SYDNEY and Brisbane are the world’s second- and third-most expensive cities behind New York in which to park, says connected car services provider and data analyst Parkopedia.

As the name suggests, UK-based Parkopedia analyses parking data tabulating the cost in cities around the world and identifying trends that affect the business of where to legally leave a vehicle.

The company – which has been accumulating data and reporting since 2017 – has just issued a document called the Global Parking Index for 2022 that may come as a shock (or not) to some. 

It is the third edition of the index, containing detailed information on global average parking prices and the key trends influencing pricing changes (in other words, cost increases).

According to Parkopedia data, New York continues to be the most expensive city for two-hour off-street parking at an average of $US43.10 ($A64.37) and is also the most expensive city for daily off-street parking at an average of $US52.65 ($A78.64).

Not to be outdone, Sydney and Brisbane have maintained their positions as second- and third-most expensive cities in the world since the 2019 report.

As a country, Australia continues to be the most expensive for both two-hour off-street parking at an average of $US19.12 ($A28.56) and daily off-street parking averaging $US34.42 ($A51.42).

But Amsterdam ranks as one of the most expensive cities to park in the world, its two-hour on-street rates averaging $13.31 ($A19.88) while taking the dubious honour of second-most expensive city for monthly off-street parking at an average of $US641.77 ($A959.09).

The bicycle-friendly Dutch capital is also the world’s third-most expensive for daily off-street parking, averaging $US47.22 ($A70.55).

Parkopedia’s data is compiled from over 90 million parking spaces across 20,000 cities in 90 countries.

In a statement the company describes its latest report as providing “further insight into the ever-changing parking industry, comparing global parking prices while identifying the most expensive places to park, broken down by on- and off-street locations, and two-hour, daily and monthly parking duration periods”.

“The 2022 Parking Index also covers the latest trends that have the strongest influence on pricing changes worldwide and additionally includes daily on-street parking pricing for the first time since reports began in 2017.

“Despite significant global changes that have occurred in the last three years, the 2022 Parking Index offers a continuation of parking pricing patterns observed in the 2019 Global Parking Index.”

Parkopedia’s eport points to several events in recent years that have introduced significant individual fluctuations in average prices.

South Korea has been named the most expensive country for daily on-street parking, with an average of $US37.75 ($A56.40).

Unexpectedly, Russia experienced one of the greatest changes in the last three years with a price hike of 42.7 per cent for two-hour off-street and 42.6 per cent for daily off-street parking.

Due to heavy inflationary pressures, Turkey has experienced significant changes in pricing and now ranks at the top for monthly off-street parking prices when averaged over the last three years, recording a 41.3 per cent increase from 2019 to 2022.

Cities in the United States dominate the results for the most expensive two-hour off-street pricing, although the most expensive cities for daily off-street parking are predominantly found within Europe, the report says. 

Parkopedia attributes this to US parking operators charging the majority of the daily parking rate upfront (typically the first two hours) in large US cities; a rarity in other countries. 

In terms of what is driving the rapid upward price spiral, Parkopedia has identified three key trends driving parking price changes; supply and demand, green initiatives and rising inflation.

Due to a fear of infection from COVID-19 on public transport, for the past three years private vehicle use has dramatically increased and caused a knock-on effect for parking prices.

Parkopedia says the pandemic also sparked municipalities worldwide to introduce initiatives to support the hospitality sector, which affected on-street parking supply and therefore price.

Another parking price influencer is the increasing conversion of on-street parking spaces into pedestrian zones or cycling routes to allow for greener areas and the encouragement to use multi-modal forms of transport in a push towards greener living and cleaner urban areas.

High rates of inflation have also impacted average parking prices worldwide to the tune of a 6.2 per cent average increase in the price of two-hour off-street parking, with on-street parking up by an average of 21.8 per cent since the last Parking Index report. 

Parkopedia is a connected car services provider used by customers of Audi, Apple, BMW, Ford, Garmin, General Motors, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Peugeot, Sygic, TomTom, Toyota and Volkswagen, among others.

The company’s information helps drivers find and pay for parking, EV charging, fuel and tolls, with detailed parking maps and corresponding algorithms to help drivers and self-driving vehicles navigate to an open parking space indoors currently under development.