This is how much it costs to park in SA vs rest of the world

While we have to contend with potholes, load-shed traffic lights and some of the world’s most dangerous drivers, at least SA road users don’t pay a lot for parking.

SA has among the world’s cheapest parking fees and ranks 38th in a list of the most expensive countries to park in, according to the latest Parkopedia Global Parking Index.

Based on Parkopedia’s data covering more than 90-million parking spaces across 20,000 cities in 90 countries, the two-hour cost of off-street parking in SA is an average $1.33 (around R23).

That’s far more affordable than Australia, which tops the list with a whopping $19.12 (R330).

The second most expensive country to park in is the US on $9.38 (R162), ahead of Israel and New Zealand both on $8.79 (R151), and Norway on $8.70 (R149).

New York is the most expensive city for two-hour off-street parking, with an average of $43.10 (R743).

The Netherlands is the most expensive country for monthly off-street parking at an average of $344.29 (R5,934).

Parkopedia is a connected car services provider used by millions of drivers and organisations such as Audi, Apple, BMW, Ford and Garmin.

It says the Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on parking prices in the past three years, as the fear of contagion drove many to opt for private vehicles instead of public transportation, combined with municipalities worldwide introducing initiatives to support the hospitality sector, which affected on-street parking supply.

Another common trend affecting supply is the transformation of on-street parking spaces into pedestrian zones or cycling routes to allow for greener areas and the encouragement to use multimodal forms of transport in the push towards greener living and cleaner urban areas. High rates of inflation have also affected average prices worldwide, with Parkopedia’s results showing the average per country inflation for two-hour off-street parking was 6.2%, while the average for two-hour on-street parking was 21.8%.