London and Edinburgh amongst world’s most costly cities for parking

Image source; DiscoverCars.com

A new study by DiscoverCars.com has revealed the world’s most expensive charges, with London coming out on top.

DiscoverCars.com has looked into the most expensive parking charges across 80 of the world’s most populated cities. Using sources spanning national government websites to local media and parking databases, the findings examined the average charges of hourly on-street parking on non-public holidays.

The charges were ranked from highest to lowest in price, with a top 10 ranking of the most expensive prices created thereafter.

Aleksandrs Buraks, Head of Growth at DiscoverCars.com, comments:

“Looking at the hourly parking charges of cities from across the world’s four corners, we found these insights to be very interesting! Amongst data that might be predictable for some, there’s likely some that may also be unexpected.

“In this study, there were some notable trends that our team at DiscoverCars.com found, including there being a £2.59 difference between the 1st and 10th highest ranking cities. Although that might not sound like a lot, these disparities in hourly parking globally can really add up. Especially in London, the city our analysis found to be in 1st position, where hourly parking is nearly £8.”

The most expensive hourly parking rate in the world was found to be London £6.05. To explore more outside of the capital, though, DiscoverCars.com recommends venturing out to the Surrey Hills National Landscape – an official Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and only a 30 minute drive from Gatwick Airport.

The Dutch capital, Amsterdam came in 2nd place. There, an average cost of on-street parking can cost drivers around £5.22 per hour. Despite that, there are a plethora of great sights to see in the city, including the Rijksmuseum, Stedelijk Museum and Amsterdam Museum. Only around a 20 minute drive from each other, short drives and close parking mean more time can be spent exploring.

In succession, Chicago, United States ranked in 3rd place. The Midwestern city saw hourly on-street parking costing around £5.03. Despite this cost, a must-see is the city’s famed Millenium Park. Under an hour’s drive from O’Hare International Airport, family fun such as rock climbing walls, skating rinks, free community events and the world famous Cloud Gate can make this the trip of a lifetime.

With the world’s fourth most expensive hourly parking, Oslo’s average on-street charge was found to be £4.86. The Norwegian capital boasts countless cultural sights and family friendly days out, including Tusenfryd. The city’s open air Folkemuseum is a great destination where you can wander through replica buildings that show what life in Norway would have been like hundreds of years ago.

Concluding the top 5 is Edinburgh, United Kingdom. The second UK city in the top 5, the findings of the average price of hourly on-street parking were £4.55. Close to the city centre is Arthur’s Seat, an extinct volcano which offers breathtaking views at its peak. Parking can also be booked in advance there, to save any last minute worries, leaving visitors more time to explore!

DiscoverCars.com’s findings concluded that 80% of the cities included in the top 10 rankings were in Europe. In addition, the United Kingdom appears twice. So, this was found to be the most expensive place in the world for hourly parking respectively.