INRIX Parking Scorecard Reveals a Transatlantic Divide in Urban Parking

INRIX Parking Scorecard Reveals a Transatlantic Divide in Urban Parking

Drivers searching for on-street parking in North American city centres have a 59% probability of finding an available space, compared with 41% in Europe, according to the first INRIX Parking Scorecard. The international comparison also reveals substantial differences in parking charges and the way cities allocate increasingly contested kerbside space.

Published by transportation analytics company INRIX, the study examines more than 120 downtown areas across 14 countries, combining parking availability estimates with pricing, kerb regulations and infrastructure data. While the headline findings concern motorists, the underlying issues extend into urban freight, commercial deliveries and the management of streets where competing demands frequently exceed the space available.

Parking supply, pricing and restrictions are generally managed locally, often through separate systems. That makes consistent comparisons difficult, particularly when cities are attempting to balance private vehicle access with public transport, commercial activity and pedestrian infrastructure.

Briefing

• INRIX has published its first Parking Scorecard, covering more than 120 downtown areas across 14 countries.
• Average on-street parking availability is estimated at 59% in North America and 41% in Europe.
• Average off-street parking costs $8.35 per hour in the United States and Canada, compared with $3.88 in Europe.
• New York records the highest average off-street parking prices, while London leads European cities for on-street rates.
• The study examines how parking prices, kerb regulations and infrastructure affect access to urban street space.

Parking Availability and Pricing

The difference between North American and European parking availability is considerable, although the percentages require careful interpretation. INRIX describes availability as the probability of finding an open on-street space within the downtown areas studied, rather than the proportion of all kerbside spaces that remain unoccupied.

The geographical averages also conceal substantial variation between individual cities, with conditions changing according to the time of day and day of the week. A city centre with relatively accessible parking during working hours may experience very different pressures in the evening, while restrictions on particular streets can substantially affect where vehicles are permitted to stop.

Pricing introduces another dimension. Across the United States and Canada, the study reports average off-street parking charges of $8.35 per hour, more than twice the European average of $3.88. New York has the highest average off-street charges among the downtown areas surveyed, while London records the highest average on-street parking rates in the European sample.

INRIX also identifies a difference in the relationship between on-street and off-street charges. European cities generally maintain closer pricing parity between the two, whereas North American cities more frequently offer comparatively inexpensive kerbside parking alongside substantially more expensive garages and car parks.

Where kerbside parking is significantly cheaper, motorists have a financial incentive to search for an available street space before accepting the higher cost of a garage. More closely aligned prices may make off-street facilities a more attractive alternative, although walking distance, restrictions, availability and the purpose of the journey will still influence the decision.

The Scorecard does not establish how much traffic is generated by drivers searching for parking, nor does the continental comparison demonstrate that one pricing approach consistently produces better traffic conditions. Nevertheless, the relationship between parking charges and availability provides a starting point for examining whether local policies encourage drivers to use existing off-street capacity or continue circulating in search of cheaper spaces.

The Competition for Kerb Space

Parking policy becomes more complicated when the kerb is considered as part of the transport network rather than simply somewhere to leave a vehicle. A stretch of city-centre frontage might accommodate private parking, commercial loading, passenger collection, bus access or a cycle lane, but its physical capacity remains limited regardless of how many activities compete for it.

For freight operators, access to suitable loading space is a practical concern. Delivery vehicles need to stop close enough to their destinations to unload efficiently, often within tightly defined time windows. When suitable facilities are unavailable, drivers may have to circulate, stop farther away or risk parking where restrictions prohibit it, introducing additional time and cost into otherwise routine deliveries.

Taxis, ride-hailing vehicles, tradespeople and service contractors also require access to the kerb, sometimes at the same locations and during the same periods. As cities allocate more street space to pedestrian infrastructure, cycling and public transport, authorities must decide which activities receive priority and how those arrangements should change throughout the day.

Michael Schwartz, General Manager of City Solutions at INRIX, described the pressure on local authorities: “Cities are increasingly being asked to balance competing demands for limited curb space,” said Schwartz. “Passenger loading, deliveries, rideshare services, outdoor dining, micromobility and autonomous vehicles are all competing for the same asset. Better data helps cities move from reactive decisions to proactive management.”

Autonomous vehicles introduce another potential source of demand. Driverless passenger services will still need places to collect and discharge occupants, and their operating patterns could alter the way kerbside space is used. The more immediate challenge, however, remains accommodating conventional traffic, deliveries and passenger services within existing street networks.

For commercial operators, the distinction between parking availability and usable access is particularly relevant. An empty space may be subject to restrictions that prevent loading, while a designated delivery bay offers little value if it is occupied or unavailable during the required delivery period. Effective kerb management therefore depends on understanding how spaces are regulated and used, rather than simply counting how many exist.

Measuring Parking and Kerbside Operations

The Parking Scorecard draws on a much larger INRIX parking intelligence operation. According to the company, its wider platform contains information covering more than 21,000 cities worldwide, approximately 65,000 miles of digitised kerb and 350,000 off-street parking facilities.

INRIX also reports maintaining detailed kerb inventories and policy information for more than a decade, alongside predictive parking availability models supported by over three million ground-truth observations. Its data operations involve automotive manufacturers, mapping providers, parking operators, payment companies and public authorities, bringing together information from several parts of the transport and parking ecosystem.

Those platform figures should not be confused with the scope of the new Scorecard, which examines more than 120 downtown areas rather than every city represented within INRIX’s wider databases.

The analysis combines information about parking availability, charges and the regulations governing different sections of kerb. These datasets describe related but distinct conditions. Availability indicates the likelihood of finding a space, pricing influences the cost of using it, and regulations determine which vehicles are permitted to stop and for what purpose.

A garage with spare capacity may attract relatively few drivers if cheaper street parking remains available nearby. Similarly, a loading bay may appear adequate in an infrastructure inventory but provide insufficient access during periods of concentrated delivery demand. Examining these conditions together can help identify where the physical provision of parking or loading space differs from its practical usefulness.

INRIX points to recent kerb management initiatives in Philadelphia as an example of how improved loading-zone arrangements can help address illegal parking and traffic flow. The announcement does not quantify those improvements, and the example is separate from the Scorecard’s international parking comparison.

The wider question for transport authorities is how reliably these different sources of information can describe conditions on individual streets. Parking availability changes continuously, while regulations may vary by time, vehicle type or day of the week. Maintaining accurate records is therefore an ongoing operational task, particularly where restrictions are frequently amended or temporary arrangements are introduced.

Comparing Urban Parking Conditions

International comparisons require some caution because downtown areas are not necessarily equivalent in their geography, transport provision or patterns of land use.

European city centres often contain older street networks with constrained carriageway widths, while North American downtowns may have different development patterns and parking infrastructure. Public transport provision, residential density, pedestrian activity and the distribution of commercial premises can also influence demand for kerbside space.

Higher parking availability may reflect greater supply, weaker demand, more restrictive pricing or a combination of these factors. Lower availability can arise from equally varied circumstances, and neither result independently establishes whether a city has allocated too much or too little space to parking.

The detailed geographical boundaries, observation periods, weighting methods and definitions used in the Scorecard are therefore relevant when comparing individual locations. Without that context, a ranking may describe a measurable difference in parking conditions without fully explaining what has produced it.

Schwartz said INRIX developed the Scorecard to provide a comparative reference alongside established transport performance measures: “Parking affects economic vitality, accessibility, congestion, safety, curb operations, freight efficiency and traveler experience, yet cities often lack a way to compare themselves against peers.”

Congestion and road safety benchmarks already allow authorities to compare performance and evaluate changes over time, provided the underlying definitions remain consistent. Parking presents additional complications because the same stretch of street may serve different purposes at different times, and availability alone reveals relatively little about whether those arrangements are appropriate.

For authorities considering changes to parking tariffs, the relationship between kerbside and off-street charges offers one area for investigation. Cities reviewing commercial loading arrangements could examine whether existing bays are available when deliveries actually take place, while transport planners may find it useful to compare parking conditions with traffic counts, public transport provision and surrounding land uses.

Such assessments still require local evidence. A comparative score cannot establish the appropriate number of loading bays, the optimum parking tariff or the most effective restriction for a particular street. Those decisions depend on the surrounding transport network and the needs of the businesses, residents and services using it.

The INRIX Parking Scorecard provides a reference for examining how cities manage an increasingly contested part of their transport infrastructure. Its longer-term usefulness will depend on consistent measurement, transparent methodology and the ability to identify changes in parking conditions as policies and travel patterns evolve.

Parking data can show where spaces are available and how much they cost. The more difficult task for city authorities is deciding which vehicles should have access to those spaces, when they need them and how competing demands can be accommodated within streets that have little room to expand.

Key Industry Questions

1. What is the INRIX Parking Scorecard? The 2026 Scorecard is a comparative assessment of parking availability, prices and kerb regulations across more than 120 downtown areas in 14 North American and European countries.
2. How much easier is it to find on-street parking in North America? INRIX reports an average 59% probability of finding an available on-street space in the North American downtown areas studied, compared with 41% in Europe. Actual availability varies between cities and throughout the week.
3. Why is off-street parking more expensive in North America? The study identifies substantially higher average charges in the United States and Canada, but does not establish a single cause. Land values, development patterns, parking supply, operating costs and local pricing policies can all influence charges.
4. Which cities have the highest parking prices? New York records the highest average off-street parking charges among the downtown areas studied, while London has the highest average on-street charges in the European sample.
5. How does parking pricing affect traffic congestion? When street parking is substantially cheaper than nearby garages, drivers may spend longer searching for available kerbside spaces. The scale of any resulting congestion depends on local conditions and cannot be determined from parking prices alone.
6. What is kerb management? Kerb management involves allocating and regulating roadside space for activities including parking, commercial loading, passenger collection, public transport and other uses. Restrictions and permitted activities may change according to location and time.
7. How can parking data improve urban freight operations? Information about loading restrictions, availability and permitted stopping locations can help authorities plan commercial loading facilities and assist operators in organising deliveries.
8. How will autonomous vehicles affect kerbside demand? Autonomous passenger services will require suitable collection and drop-off locations. Their operating patterns could alter demand for kerb access, although the extent of that change remains uncertain.
9. Where can the INRIX Parking Scorecard be accessed? The Scorecard is available through the official INRIX Parking Scorecard website.

Strategic Takeaways

1. Parking availability is only one performance measure. A high probability of finding a space does not establish whether street capacity is being allocated efficiently.
2. Relative pricing can influence vehicle circulation. Large differences between kerbside and garage charges may encourage drivers to search for cheaper spaces.
3. Commercial loading requires dedicated attention. Parking policies designed primarily around private vehicles may fail to accommodate freight and servicing requirements.
4. Digitised kerb regulations support more detailed planning. Combining restrictions, availability and pricing information can help authorities evaluate competing street uses.
5. International benchmarks require local interpretation. Comparisons are most useful when geography, transport provision, demand and measurement methods are taken into account.