New York

DC Drivers Spend 65 Hours Annually Searching for Parking

The search costs drivers hundreds of dollars every year.

Owning a car is not cheap -- and in addition to insurance, gas and parking fees, there is a hidden cost: time spent driving around while looking for parking costs D.C. drivers lots of time and hundreds of dollars annually.

In D.C., according to one report from transportation firm INRIX, the hunt for the perfect spot may cost each driver $1,367 a year.

D.C. drivers spend about 65 hours -- more than two days -- each year searching for parking. The study says 59 of those hours could be spent doing other things with better parking systems.

Overpaying for meters costs drivers another $350 a year.

New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco residents are the only people who spend more, leaving D.C. in fourth place.

Researchers calculated the the amount of wasted time, gas and even the cost of unnecessary pollution.

The D.C. Department of Transportation is working on programs to reduce congestion, Stephanie Dock, who works with DDOT, told News4's Mark Segraves.

"There are a lot of demands on our curbside these days. I mean, those deliveries you get from Amazon have to get delivered to you," she said. "We need space for everyone to use."

She also said technology like apps to find parking spots will help drivers save.

Here’s a list of reccomended parking apps:

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