Cars are a modern fact of life, and with over 27 billion private vehicles on the UK roads you can be thankful that we have enough safe places to park them! Car parking probably isn’t a topic that you discuss much over dinner, but here at Trafalgar Street we love to dig into the facts and figures associated with our favourite subject (we admit that this is probably a little sad!). We hope that you enjoy this week’s fun and informative article on car parking – you never know, you might pick up a few interesting facts to share with your family and friends over pizza!
People and parking
It’s hardly surprising that a densely populated and well-ordered society like the UK employs over 60,500 people in the parking industry alone. With only around 10% of employees being female, it just goes to prove that men much prefer staring at cars all day!
Finding a space
Sometimes it feels like we can never find a space when we need one, but you might be interested to know that the UK is home to between 17,000 and 20,000 non-residential car parks, providing between 3 and 4 million spaces! Even more amazing is that around 42% of these are free – although you can never find one when you really need one!
The cost of parking
Of the 58% of spaces that we have to pay for sources a suggest that we get a pretty good deal, with over 80% costing less than £3 and 50% less than £1. Considering the average fuel spend of around £1600 per year, we think that the average parking spend of £41.50 per vehicle represents excellent value for money compared to the cost of public transport.
Avoiding tickets
One of the potential issues with parking publically is falling foul of local or national parking bylaws, but if you follow these simple guidelines and you shouldn’t end your trip with an unexpected bill:
- Display your ticket prominently to ensure attendants can see it
- Regularly check that your parking permits are in date – this is especially an issue for residential permits
- Read the signs! Ignorance is no defence, so make sure that you know the rules
- Have enough change for the meter because nipping off to grab some change will not save you from a ticket
- Keep your car within the designated spot because a single wheel out of place could end up costing you a fine
Sources: nationalcareersservice.direct.gov.uk, Parkopedia, Parking Data & Research International
Spaced Out: Perspectives on parking policy, RAC Cost of Motoring Index, DCLG Local Authority Expenditure and Financing