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

  • December 14, 2017
    TomTom: Congestion costs on UK businesses increase by £148m
    UK Congestion is costing businesses £915m ($1,229m) a year in lost productivity, according to the latest figures revealed by TomTom’s (TT’s) Traffic Index. Findings showed this figure is an increase of £148m ($198m) from last year’s £767m ($1,030m).
    Read More
  • May 22, 2017
    Australian and US cities ‘most expensive for short term parking’
    According to the Parkopedia 2017 Global Parking Index, New York, US, and Sydney, Australia, are the most expensive cities in the world to park for two hours with an average cost of US$30, while London tops the list of the most expensive cities for monthly parking charges.
    Read More
  • January 3, 2018
    Inrix integrates parking solution with ultrasonic sensors
    Inrix has introduced new technology that uses ultrasonic sensors (USS) to scan, collect, and transmit real-time parking occupancy information to help guide drivers to available parking spaces. It will also help to enhance the quality of Inrix Parking. As the car is moving down the road, USS transmit sound waves and collects data on parked cars and empty spaces. It is then sent anonymously to the Parking Cloud to be analysed and combined with the parking availability prediction engine which determines block
    Read More
  • March 4, 2014
    Traffic congestion rise in Europe a ‘sign of economic recovery’
    A new report from leading traffic information and driver services provider Inrix shows traffic congestion in Europe rose in 2013 for the first time in two years. According to the 2013 annual Inrix Traffic Scorecard, traffic congestion across Europe increased approximately six per cent in the last three quarters of the year. The amount of time British drivers spent in traffic throughout the year has risen slightly, from 29 hours in 2012 to 30 hours in 2013. This puts the UK in sixth place in Europe, behi
    Read More

Highlighted Content