There’s a lot to love about our old girl, Sydney. She’s got pristine beaches, an epic food scene and a veritable smorgasbord of events to attend any given day. But cheap parking ain’t one of our great city’s boastful attributes. And a new report released by NRMA and Bitzios Consulting backs that up, revealing that the cost of parking in Sydney is one of the most expensive in the world. The Parkin’ Mad report found that daily parking fees in Sydney average at around $77.30. Beep beep!
According to realestate.com.au, CBD parking is a hot-property commodity, with car spaces being listed for staggering prices – you can pay up to $150,000 for 14 square metres of concrete. Parking mad, indeed.
If that's sobering enough, the report also found Sydney’s parking woes are having a very real knock-on effect amidst the cost of living crisis. As we fork out more for parking, that means there’s less disposable income to go towards hospitality, tourism and retail – three pillars that are essential to a flowing economy.
In the report, Paul Nicolaou, Executive Director of Business Sydney, said he hopes the Parkin’ Mad findings might elicit some “sensible discussion” around affordable parking, after it was found that the City of Sydney generated $41.5 million revenue from parking meters last year.
The report also crunched the comparative numbers and found that when stacked up against other cities with similar populations and density, Sydney was by far the most expensive city in the world when it comes to parking.
If you’re looking for more reasonable daily parking rates, San Diego averages around $40 per day and Boston close to $50 per day.
Next time you’re out for the day you might want to think about leaving a few hours early to get a free park (all the very best) or perhaps dust off the Opal card and travel by public transport. While you're at it, check out our ultimate guide to getting around Sydney using PT.
Stay in the loop: sign up for our free Time Out Sydney newsletter for more news, travel tips and city insights, straight to your inbox.