Cheap Lot Parking Is Not Always the Cheapest Parking

The search for parking usually starts with a simple question: How much does it cost?

That makes sense. Parking can be an unexpected expense, particularly in busy urban areas where rates can vary dramatically from one location to another. A driver may compare a garage, a municipal lot and street parking before choosing the cheapest option. But price is only one part of what parking actually costs.

A space that looks inexpensive on a parking sign can become surprisingly expensive once time, distance, fuel and inconvenience are added to the equation.

The cheapest parking space is not necessarily the parking space that costs the least.

The hidden cost of looking for parking

Consider a driver heading into a busy neighbourhood for an appointment, dinner or event. They have a destination and a general idea of where they would like to park, but the closest lots are expensive. So they keep driving.

The first few minutes do not seem like a big deal. Then another block passes. The driver checks another street. That space is taken. Another lot is full. Eventually they find something, but now they are several blocks away and have spent additional time getting there.

The parking fee may be lower, but the driver has paid in other ways.

There is the time spent searching. There may be additional fuel or electricity consumed. There is the inconvenience of walking farther to the destination. And there is the uncertainty that comes with not knowing whether the next street will actually produce a parking space.

Those costs rarely appear on the parking receipt.

Convenience has a value

Parking is not simply about storing a vehicle. It is about getting from the vehicle to the place you actually want to be.

That makes proximity important. A parking space that costs a little more but is directly beside a destination may provide considerably more value than a cheaper space that requires a long walk. For someone carrying equipment, travelling with children, dealing with mobility limitations or simply running late, that difference can be significant.

Even for a healthy driver with plenty of time, convenience has value.

This is why the traditional way of comparing parking prices can be misleading. Drivers are not really buying a number of hours in a parking space. They are buying access to a location for a period of time, along with the convenience and certainty that comes with it.

The problem with driving around for a better deal

There is another calculation drivers rarely make when they decide to keep searching for cheaper parking.

At what point does searching cost more than the savings?

If one parking option costs $5 more but takes two minutes to reach, while another requires 15 minutes of searching, the difference may not be as attractive as it first appears. The driver has effectively traded time and convenience for a relatively small saving.

And there is no guarantee the cheaper space will actually be available.

This is particularly frustrating in busy areas because parking demand can change quickly. A space that was available five minutes ago may be gone by the time another driver reaches it. A street that normally has parking can suddenly be full because of an event, construction or an unusually busy day.

The result is a strange paradox. Drivers may spend considerable time searching for parking while paying a different kind of price for every minute they spend looking.

The parking space nobody knows about

There is another reason finding good-value parking can be difficult: drivers generally search only the parking supply they know exists.

Traditional parking facilities are visible. A garage has a sign. A municipal lot has an entrance. A street space is obvious when it is available.

Private parking is different.

A driveway can be empty without a driver knowing it is available. An office parking lot can have dozens of unused spaces after employees leave for the day. A business may have parking available at times when its customers are gone. A church or community organization may have significant parking capacity sitting unused for much of the week.

These spaces can be close to the driver's destination and potentially offer a better option, but they are effectively invisible unless there is a way to discover them.

That is one of the problems shared parking is designed to solve.

What makes parking good value?

Good-value parking is not necessarily the cheapest parking. It is the parking option that best balances price, location, availability and convenience for a particular trip.

For one driver, that might mean finding the lowest possible hourly rate. For another, it might mean getting within a two-minute walk of a restaurant. Someone commuting to work might value a reliable recurring space more than a slightly cheaper space that is difficult to find each morning.

The definition of value changes according to the trip.

This is why having more choices can be more important than simply having lower prices. When drivers can compare different parking options based on where they are going and when they need to park, they can make decisions based on what actually matters to them.

Shared parking can create more choices

The promise of shared parking is not that every space will be cheaper.

It is that more parking can potentially become visible and accessible.

When homeowners, businesses and organizations share parking they are not using, drivers gain another source of supply. A driver may discover a space that is closer to the destination than a traditional parking garage. Another driver may find a location that works better for the time they need it. Someone else may prefer a slightly more expensive space because it eliminates the uncertainty of searching.

The important change is having options.

Parker is built around connecting people who have parking with people who need it. By bringing private parking into a marketplace, spaces that might otherwise remain invisible can become part of the driver's search.

That does not eliminate the need for traditional parking. It simply adds another layer of supply.

Parking is becoming a smarter decision

Technology has changed the way people think about almost every other part of a trip.

We can compare flights before booking them. We can see restaurant availability before leaving home. We can compare rides and delivery options from our phones. We can choose routes based on traffic and estimated arrival times.

Parking is increasingly becoming part of that same decision-making process.

The more information drivers have about available spaces, location, timing and price, the less reason there is to simply drive around and hope something appears.

That shift could make parking less frustrating and more predictable.

The real cost of parking

The next time you compare two parking spaces, look beyond the price on the sign.

Ask how far each space is from your destination. Ask how much time it will take to find one. Consider whether you know the space will actually be available when you arrive. Think about the inconvenience of walking several blocks or circling the neighbourhood looking for something cheaper.

The answer may be that the slightly more expensive space is actually the better deal.

And sometimes, the best option may be a parking space that you did not know existed.

That is the opportunity behind Parker. By connecting unused private parking with drivers looking for a place to park, Parker can help turn parking from a search into a choice.

Because when it comes to parking, the lowest price is only one measure of value. Sometimes the best parking is simply the space that gets you where you are going with the least amount of hassle.