Drivers waste billions searching for parking

Drivers in the UK, US and Germany spend billions searching and paying for parking spaces and paying for more time than they need to avoid a penalty charge, according to a new study by Inrix.
July 13, 2017 Read time: 2 mins

Drivers in the UK, US and Germany spend billions searching and paying for parking spaces and paying for more time than they need to avoid a penalty charge, according to a new study by 163 Inrix.

The study was based on data from the Inrix Parking database of and survey responses from nearly 18,000 drivers in the US, UK and Germany.

The study found that UK drivers spend an average of 44 hours a year searching for parking, at a cost of £733 (US$948) each in wasted time, fuel and emissions. They overpay for parking to the tune of an estimated £6.7 billion (US$8.6 billion) a year or £209 (US$270) per driver; UK drivers also pay £1.2 billion (US$1.5 billion) annually in parking fines.

Americans spend an average of 17 hours per year searching for parking, resulting in a cost of US$345 per driver in wasted time, fuel and emissions, says the survey. Over-paying for parking costs American drivers more than US$20 billion a year, or US$97 per driver.

In Germany, motorists pay 98 Euros (US$112) more than needed for their parking, to avoid an average 8 Euros m (US$9) in parking fines. Germans waste an average 896 Euros (US$1,000) a year hunting for places, the study found.

Dr Graham Cookson, chief economist, Inrix, says, “To lessen the significant burden parking pain has on our economy and lives, smart parking solutions are available for drivers, parking operators and cities to help reduce search times, congestion and pollution as well as negate overpaying and fines altogether. Still, more needs to be done to drive adoption. Parking pain will only get worse until technology is fully embraced.”

Parking & Access Control

Related Content

  • April 4, 2016
    More than half of UK’s new cars sold with autonomous safety tech
    Self driving cars may seem years away, but more than 1.5 million UK motorists a year now leave showrooms in cars featuring self-activating safety systems, according to analysis revealed by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

    Data from SMMT and JATO Dynamics shows that more than half of new cars registered in 2015 were fitted with safety-enhancing collision warning systems, with other technologies such as adaptive cruise control, autonomous emergency braking and blind spot monitoring also surging in popularity.
    Read More
  • July 20, 2016
    Study finds fewer cars, improved emissions with one-way car-sharing
    The University of California, Berkeley Transportation Sustainability Research Center (TSRC) has released results from the first-ever study of one-way car-sharing in North America and its impact on mobility. The researchers say the findings clearly illustrate that one-way car-sharing reduces the number of cars travelling on city roads and occupying parking spaces on city streets. The study, which gathered data from nearly 9,500 North American car2go members residing in Calgary; San Diego; Seattle; Van
    Read More
  • May 3, 2017
    Countering truckers’ parking conundrum
    Colin Sowman hears about a new truck parking information system being piloted across eight states. Legislation limits truck drivers’ hours with the result that they are often caught in a situation where they need to stop either for a break or an overnight rest. But as truck parking is in short supply, truck drivers spend an average of 56 minutes a day searching for available spaces and are often faced with the choice of driving beyond their permitted hours or parking illegally.
    Read More
  • September 6, 2018
    UK fleet operators commit to taking diesel vans off roads
    In the UK, 16 public and private sector fleet operators are to invest £40m in a bid to deploy 2,400 electric vans by 2020. The operators – which include Tesco - point to a recent study, in which the health damage caused by pollution from diesel vans has been put at £2.2bn per annum to the UK National Health Service and to society. The newly-formed consortium – called the Clean Van Commitment – is backed by the Department for Transport and led by charity Global Action Plan and energy and services group Engi
    Read More

Highlighted Content