Parking and congestion account for one-third of the cost of running a car, says INRIX

The hidden costs of congestion and parking make up one-third of all costs of owning a vehicle, research from INRIX has found.

The connected car services and transportation analytics company has released its first Cost of Driving study, examining the cost of owning a vehicle in 30 major cities across the UK, the US and Germany.

Its research found the total cost of driving for the average UK driver was £5,795 in 2017, made up of direct (maintenance, fuel, insurance and parking and toll fees) and indirect (wasted time and carbon, parking fines and overpayments) costs.

London is the most expensive UK city, with motorists paying 1.6 times the national average at £9,353, mostly due to the cost of parking.

Bristol, closely followed by Southampton, had the lowest cost of driving at £5,111 per driver.

Graham Cookson, chief economist at INRIX, said: “The true cost of driving was staggering but what was truly surprising was the size and breakdown of the hidden costs.

“Parking, for example, made up almost a third of the total cost of motoring,

“On average, U.K. drivers are spending almost £2,000 a year on parking-related costs.”

On a per mile basis, the average U.K. driver spent 35% more on driving than the average U.S. driver and 6% more than Germans.