World’s lowest on-street parking costs revealed

New research has revealed which cities charge the least – and the most – for their paid street parking zones, with London emerging as the most expensive and Sydney finishing on somewhat middle ground.

Polish research firm Picodi said it looked at the cost of one hour of on-street parking on a working day across 48 major cities with paid parking zones.

And while Sydney ranked higher on average, costing between $5.40-$7.60 (or $3.94-$5.55 depending on the zone) for an hour of parking, Melbourne wasn’t far behind at between $4:00 and $7.60 for the same period.

Of course, off-street parking in Australia’s two biggest cities costs much more than that.

Meanwhile, Wollongong and Newcastle were among the cheapest major cities Down Under for paid parking, costing as little as 0.80c and 0.83c respectively.

Looking at the rest of the world, Yerevan in Armenia was found to be the most affordable, at as little as 0.21c for the first hour of paid parking.

The most expensive is Greater London, where it costs up to $11.29 an hour, followed by Oslo (up to $8.57) and Amsterdam (up to $8.55).

According to Picodi, six of the 48 countries listed – including Lisbon, Rome, Tirana, Skopje, Buenos Aires and Mexico City – allow residents to leave their car on streets with a parking meter for free, if they park their car on a street near their residence.

Stockholm was the most expensive city to hold a resident parking permit, costing as much as $1492 for just 12 months. That’s followed by Riga (up to $1163), Amsterdam (up to $647) and Copenhagen (up to $623).

In Sydney, Picodi found residents pay an average of around $82 per year to park on the street near their house, while Adelaide drivers pay the highest annual premium of all Aussies, at up to $210.