The battle for parking costs drivers billions of dollars

Drivers in the US, Germany and the UK spend billions each year in time and fuel searching for parking spots then pay for more time than they need to avoid tickets that would likely cost less. Cities become more congested, and this is the reason why the direct and indirect costs of parking are a headache for both drivers and policy makers, who often have conflicting goals. Motorists want cheap, plentiful parking while governments in many large cities want to discourage vehicle traffic, reduce congestion and cut the air pollution generated as cars hunt for on- or off-street parking.

Automakers and technology companies, meanwhile, hope to profit from guiding motorists more smoothly into parking spaces using smartphone apps or technology that automates parking maneuvers. Closely held INRIX of Kirkland, Washington provides traffic data to parking services and automakers and owns the parking reservation app ParkMe. The study of parking costs was based on information from the company’s parking database and survey responses from 18,000 drivers in 30 cities in Britain, Germany and the United States. Read more