European parking industry worth €30 BN

The parking industry across Europe is worth an estimated €30 billion and employs over 500,000 people, a major report released today (Weds) at the European Parking Congress in Dublin has revealed.

Data also puts the value of the parking industry in Ireland at more than €360m with an employment figure of some 1,500.

Details of the new survey were published at the 16th European Parking Congress taking place in the Convention Centre Dublin and attended by over 500 delegates. The Congress, which is organised by the European Parking Association (EPA), was opened by the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Mr Leo Varadkar TD.

Speaking at the Congress, Minister Varadkar highlighted the contribution of parking management to urban mobility in our cities and towns and how it could assist a town’s economic life and attraction.

He said: “The provision of parking is very important from the point of view of urban mobility. A well-regulated and managed parking regime can enhance a town significantly, while a parking free-for-all increases congestion, slows traffic, and can even cause unnecessary trips to be made.”

As a result, the Minister said he was delighted that the EPA conference was being held in Dublin “as it gives Irish planners, engineers and policy makers the opportunity to share expertise with international experts in this field.”

The survey findings show that in the countries covered by the EPA - including Ireland – income generated from parking was nearly €23 billon while across all of Europe it was just under €30 billion. This was produced from some 41 million parking spaces in EPA countries and some 47 million for all of Europe.

It found that some 500,000 jobs are generated by the industry in EPA member countries while it was estimated that all across Europe there are 570,000 people employed directly in the parking business.

The objective of the survey was to discover the number of on and off street car parking spaces in EPA member countries and in the wider European market and also to calculate the amount of turnover generated by the spaces and the jobs created.

In Ireland it was found that the car parking industry is worth over €360m a year, making an annual contribution to the Exchequer in excess of €100m. Some 1,500 jobs are provided by the industry.

There are 268,897 off-street car parking spaces in Ireland with a further 84,259 on-street space giving a total of 353,156.

The breakdown in revenue from the various sectors was as follows:

• Local Authorities - €115m
• Private Car Parks - € 80m
• Transport Hubs - € 70m
• Shopping Centres - € 50m
• Hotels & Hospitals - € 25m
• Equipment Suppliers - € 15m
• Miscellaneous - € 5m

The European report concluded that 400 million spaces was “an enormous tool for managing mobility in our cities” adding: “they are the origins and destinations of a huge number of journeys.”

Understanding of this and the role of parking by planners, developers and politicians was vital, the report’s authors said, in order to generate greater benefits for all. It also added that from an employment point of view, the car parking industry was “an important sector, a sector that also has a well-established future projection.”