The Hunt for Parking Apparently Costs Americans $73 Billion Annually

INRIX Research, which compiles automotive data for automakers and state agencies, is claiming Americans waste 73 billion dollars every year trying to find and hold a parking space. Following a survey of nearly 6,000 drivers in 10 U.S. cities, INRIX concluded the average driver suffers an average of 17 hours and $345 worth of wasted time, fuel, and emissions.

While that sounds ridiculous, a 2017 national survey from the United Kingdom’s Department of Transport claimed average British drivers waste four days of their lives every year doing the same thing. The number was twice as high for city-based residents. Perhaps 17 annual hours is a little more reasonable than it initially seemed.

Anyone who has lived in both rural and major metropolitan areas will tell you there is a huge parking disparity between the two. But how blatant it may be is largely dependent upon the town in which you are trying to stash your car. Unsurprisingly, New York drivers have it the worst of anyone living the the United States. Spending an hour hunting for free parking is not unheard of in some parts of the Big Apple. According to the survey, that equates to 107 hours and a staggering $2,243 worth of wasted time and energy.

Los Angeles pursued New York as the city with the second most egregious parking experience, at 85 hours, followed by San Francisco (83 hours), Washington D.C. (65 hours), Seattle (58 hours), Chicago (56 hours), Boston (53 hours), Atlanta (50 hours), Dallas (48 hours) and Detroit (35 hours).

“Americans spend an incredible $72.7 billion searching for the elusive parking spot,” said Bob Pishue, senior economist at INRIX. “Our country’s parking pain has widespread impact — on drivers, cities, the economy and the environment. Thankfully, it’s a problem that can be improved through education, technology and partnerships.”

Tainting its research with an agenda, INRIX is one of those companies poised to help the world out of this problem with its data solutions and connected vehicle apps. However, its parking estimates might not be all that far off the mark. While the majority of Americans aren’t subject to inflated parking rates and hours of hunting for a space, a multitude of studies suggest city-dwellers spend an incredible amount of time seeking parking. A UCLA study using decades of data assessed that up to 30 percent of the traffic in downtown Los Angeles might just be looking for an open space, contributing to 47,000 gallons of wasted gas every year. Related studies showed Manhattan’s SoHo neighborhood posting similar cruising percentages.

Whether this is an argument for abandoning driving entirely (please don’t) or simply a case for sounder city planning, urbanites face unique problems while driving. Almost two-thirds of the surveyed American drivers reported feeling stressed while trying to find a parking spot in the past year, nearly half admitted to a missed appointment, a third abandoned a trip entirely, and almost one-quarter claimed to have experienced legitimate road rage.

However, the problems don’t end once you’ve found a place to stick your vehicle. “In the search for parking, overpayments and fines is a $96 billion problem in the U.S.,” said Pishue. “To lessen the burden parking pain has on our economy and quality of life, drivers, parking operators and cities must adopt smart parking solutions.”