Study Finds More than the Meter Ticking on Parking Costs

Lost time, wasted fuel and overpaying fees costs motorists billions of dollars a year, according to a report by Inrix Inc.

In the first-of-its-kind study, the Kirkland, Wash.-based provider of traffic data combined its database of more than 35 million parking spaces in 100 countries with a study of the parking behaviors and experiences of nearly 18,000 drivers in 30 cities in the U.S., U.K. and Germany.

The study’s conclusion: Drivers in the U.S., U.K. and Germany waste an average of 17, 44 and 41 hours a year, respectively, searching for parking spots. This cost drivers in the U.S. an average of $345 per year in lost time and wasted fuel for a cumulative $73 billion. The annual totals for British drivers is some £23 billion ($30 billion), while the tab for German drivers is €40 billion ($46 billion).

Not surprisingly, the average search time is much longer in large cities and financial centers. Drivers in New York City fare the worst, losing an average 107 hours per year in parking time for an aggregate cost of $4.3 billion. Other major parking clogs are Los Angeles (85 hours), San Francisco (83), London (67), and Frankfurt and Washington, D.C. (65 each).

Drivers also tend to lose money by paying for more parking time than they need due to a combination of hourly requirements, misjudging their needs and building in safety nets to ensure they aren’t ticketed. The cumulative toll of overpayments in the U.S., U.K. and Germany is $20 billion, £7 billion and €4 billion a year, respectively.