Most expensive Aussie city for car parking revealed

Fifty cent public transport fares haven’t stopped motorists from getting behind the wheel in this Aussie city.

Fifty cent public transport fares have done little to stop Brisbane drivers from getting behind the wheel, with the cost of parking more expensive than Sydney, new research reveals.

The Queensland capital’s CBD has retained its position as Australia’s most expensive parking market for the second straight year, with daily casual rates now averaging $80.84 or about $400 a week — surpassing Sydney’s $77.

Ray White Group’s head of research Vanessa Rader said she was surprised so many commuters were still choosing to pay $80 a day for parking, over $1 a day for public transport — one year on from the 50 cent fares being announced.

The average daily rate for casual parking in Brisbane’s CBD is now $80.84, according to Ray White. Photo: Rob Maccoll.

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“Why wouldn’t you take public transport given there’s such a price disparity between parking your car and taking the bus?” Ms Rader said.

“I think there was a lot of interest in taking up 50 cent fares early on, but issues with associated parking, perhaps, at train stations and near buses made it not as easy to utilise services as initially hoped.

“It’s good to see (the fares are) still in effect, given the cost of living issues. As traffic and congestion gets worse, the hope... is that people will look at alternatives and it will save them money.”

Vanessa Rader, head of research, Ray White Group.

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The research, released today, by Ray White also reflects Brisbane’s limited parking supply coupled with stronger office attendance, demonstrated by its 10.2 per cent office vacancy rate.

“If prices are going up, that means that there’s demand, which means people are coming into the office, the city’s more vibrant, and there’s more activity going on,” Ms Rader said.

“(Brisbane’s) office takeup over the past 12 months has outperformed other places.”

But Brisbane parking operators still offer substantial discounts of 55.5 per cent for online bookings and 57.9 per cent for early bird parkers, revealing continued competition for regular commuters despite the market’s strength.

Queensland commuters taking advantage of the 50c public transport fares in Brisbane. Picture: Tertius Pickard.

Melbourne is becoming one of the cheaper markets for parking, with daily rates of $64.43 below 2013 levels ($65.00).

This decline mirrors Melbourne’s struggling office market, which maintains the highest vacancy rate among Australian CBDs at 18 per cent and continues to experience negative occupied stock change.

Sydney’s average parking rate of $77 is well below its 2023 peak of $85.05, while Hobart’s sits at $18.83 and has the lowest office vacancy rate among all CBDs at just 3.6 per cent.

It comes as a recent report revealed the eye watering amount being charged by homeowners to rent vacant car spaces in Brisbane’s inner-city area.

Parking in Brisbane is more expensive than any other city in Australia. Picture: Glenn Campbell.

The Parkin’ Mad report by NRMA and Bitzios Consulting found Brisbane drivers were splashing out around $60 a day.

A vacant car park at Ballow Chambers in Spring Hill is currently listed for $37,500 a year.

Another car park, also in Spring Hill, is listed for sale for $47,500 on Findacarpark.com.au, while another is listed for rent for $300 a month.

NRMA spokesman Peter Khoury said part of the reason parking prices had risen to unreasonable levels was due to policies decreasing the number of available parking spots.

“It’s a culmination of a number of things: construction and rezoning, the building of cycle paths and building shared paths has seen a lot of parking lost in recent years,” Mr Khoury said.

“Less parking options is obviously going to increase costs.”

Peter Khoury from NRMA. Picture: John Appleyard.

He said the continued reduction of on-street parking meant more people needed to rely on expensive parking stations and called on the government to set a cap on parking fees.

In February, Brisbane City Council reduced car parking requirements for inner-city apartment buildings as part of its Inner-City Affordability Initiative.

Property Council Queensland executive director Jess Caire said the decision would help drive down the cost of building inner-city apartments.

“As outlined in our research, car parking is estimated to add an extra $100,000 to the cost of an apartment for ‘at grade’ car parks, and more for basement car parks,” Ms Caire said.

Ms Rader said renting out private car spaces may become more common in Brisbane, particularly given the new parking requirements.

“If there’s going to be less parking with new developments, you’d think (renting a car park) could be quite attractive to people,” she said.

“It could be a good little income earner for those who don’t have a car.”

Additional reporting by Samantha Healy

Originally published as Most expensive Aussie city for car parking revealed