London is the world’s fourth most expensive place to park a car. That’s according to a recently published Parking Price Index.
The study looked at 65 cities to highlight the differences in the cost of parking around the world. Five parking locations were considered: airport, shopping district (car park), shopping district (street parking), stadium and city hall.
City hall was chosen as these buildings are generally located in the centre of the town, where parking can command a premium. The cities were ranked in terms of average percentage deviation.
The study suggests that London is the second most expensive city when it comes to parking at a stadium. A cost of £30 per hour is just 75p behind Philadelphia.
At £7.80 per hour, London is ranked fifth for airport parking costs. Meanwhile, a cost of £4.90 per hour puts London second behind Amsterdam for street parking.
Seven out of the ten top most expensive places to park are in the United States, with New York and Boston proving to be more expensive than London. The UK capital is sandwiched between two Australian cities: Sydney and Brisbane.
Fixter, the company behind the research, claims that major hubs like London “stand to lose an estimated £449 million due to the [coronavirus] pandemic”.
This is based on the £727 million parking revenue collected by Greater London boroughs in 2019. After expenses, this gives a surplus of £454 million.
The most expensive places to park
Here are the ten most expensive places to park, along with the UK cities included in the Fixter study. Click here to see the full data and methodology.
| Ranking and global city | Airport (per hour) | Shopping Car park (per hour) | Shopping Street (per hour | Stadium (per hour) | City hall (per hour) | Average deviation |
| 1. New York | £6.15 | £23.06 | £3.46 | £25.37 | £19.22 | 354.75% |
| 2. Boston | £6.15 | £19.22 | £2.88 | £23.06 | £15.38 | 282.85% |
| 3. Sydney | £10.00 | £14.95 | £3.81 | £15.47 | £9.79 | 210.98% |
| 4. London | £7.80 | £8.00 | £4.90 | £30.00 | £10.00 | 191.07% |
| 5. Brisbane | £9.79 | £9.28 | £2.58 | £25.52 | £9.28 | 173.62% |
| 6. Philadelphia | £4.61 | £9.23 | £1.54 | £30.75 | £9.23 | 269.20% |
| 7. Chicago | £2.31 | £7.69 | £3.46 | £26.91 | £7.69 | 126.40% |
| 8. Minneapolis | £3.84 | £8.46 | £2.31 | £19.22 | £9.23 | 123.51% |
| 9. San Francisco | £6.15 | £7.69 | £2.88 | £26.91 | £4.61 | 113.51% |
| 10. Washington | £4.61 | £6.92 | £1.77 | £23.06 | £7.69 | 106.59% |
| 13. Leeds | £10.00 | £6.60 | £2.80 | £18.00 | £2.50 | 83.06% |
| 19. Liverpool | £7.50 | £1.00 | £2.00 | £30.00 | £3.00 | 52.66% |
| 20. Manchester | £7.00 | £3.20 | £3.00 | £21.00 | £2.00 | 47.55% |
| 23. Edinburgh | £7.00 | £2.70 | £4.60 | £14.00 | £2.00 | 40.94% |
| 24. Birmingham | £5.70 | £2.00 | £3.50 | £15.00 | £4.00 | 38.49% |
| 29. Glasgow | £5.99 | £2.00 | £4.00 | £8.50 | £3.00 | 20.79% |
| 34. Cardiff | £3.00 | £2.00 | £2.10 | £10.00 | £4.50 | 6.81% |
| 37. Sheffield | £5.00 | £2.50 | £2.60 | £7.00 | £2.50 | 0.82% |
| 53. Belfast | £5.00 | £2.50 | £1.20 | £2.30 | £0.60 | -37.56% |
Earlier this year, we revealed how you can save money on car parking. You might also be interested in the places you’re not allowed to park.
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