Most people understand the stress of having to find a parking spot when running late to an event.
In fact, a new report by parking company SpotHero found that 73 per cent of drivers they surveyed agree parking is stressful, so much so that 53 per cent are likely to avoid or abandon plans completely due to parking.
The 2023 State of Parking survey looked at 1,006 adults in the U.S. and Canada from Feb.17 to 21 to gather insights and opinions about what matters to drivers. It focused on sustainable transportation, along with parking’s toll on someone’s stress and economic stability.
“In our second year running the State of Parking survey, we saw new priorities and sentiments emerge from today’s drivers,” SpotHero Co-founder and CEO Mark Lawrence said in a statement.
“Sustainability and convenience are proving to be increasingly important as we emerge from the pandemic, making it vital for companies to serve those interests in order to provide value to customers,” he added.
SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORTATION
The survey found that nearly 80 per cent of participants are considering the environmental impact when choosing their method of transportation. Thus, they are becoming increasingly interested in electric vehicles (EV’s).
This year, 72.4 per cent of participants said they’re considering an EV for their next vehicle, a 25 per cent jump from 2022. However, factors such as price, charger accessibility and limited brands are enabling them from pulling the trigger.
Those who are current EV owners, about 95 per cent, say they would pay more for a parking spot that includes a charger.
THE STRESS OF PARKING
Nearly sixty per cent of drivers surveyed indicated it usually takes at least 10 minutes to find a parking spot, the survey said.
Furthermore, drivers say paying for parking, getting into the parking spot, leaving the parking space and booking parking time are all factors which add to the stress of the parking process.
Street parking is the most common preference amongst 40.3 per cent of drivers. However, with this comes unexpected financial costs such as the dreaded parking ticket that has creeped up on more than half (52 per cent) of drivers within the past year. Additionally, towing is also another added cost that is mostly affecting younger drivers. Drivers between the ages of 26 to 34 years old and 35 to 44 years old say they were towed in the past year.
ECONOMIC STABILITY
Due to inflation, the cost of living and a potential recession, research discovered that drivers are reducing their spending. Findings revealed drivers lowered their budgets based on their geography. Residents in Los Angeles and New York City say they were least likely to cut down on entertainment costs in contrast to the other five cities sampled which ranked entertainment as the top expense they will cut. This includes Toronto, Boston, Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C.
“Over half have cut back on entertainment (61.2 per cent), travel (58.1 per cent), and subscriptions such as streaming, gaming, and news (51.1 per cent). Nearly half of the respondents (46.8 per cent) have opted out of taking a vacation” the report read.
Across the board, two-thirds (68.9 per cent) have reduced their personal expenses with over 80 per cent saying they have already changed their spending habits due to economic uncertainty.
