What better way to encourage the use of public transportation than to making the cost of parking outrageous! That is the case in Hong Kong, where land, no matter how small, is a great commodity.
CEO Jacinto Tong has a piece of prime real estate in Hong Kong – a parking spot. Yes, it is only 8-feet-by16-feet, but this slab of concrete comes at a hefty price – $640,000. That is about $5,000 per square foot.
Tong says it is the best parking spot he’s ever had – he only has to walk 20 steps to the elevator. And, he should know great parking spots – he owns another that also cost him $640,000.
Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? But, Tong said people don’t mind paying more for the spots, he just isn’t interested in selling them. No wonder the local media refers to him as “the tycoon of parking spaces.”
Hong Kong isn’t the only place where it is expensive to park. London isn’t cheap either. You can expect to pay about $1,084 if you want to park there, unless you find a cheaper spot in the West End. That one will only run you $1,014.
While Americans complain about the rising cost of gas, maybe we should be thankful for often free parking. In Zurich, it can cost you as much as $822 a month for parking. Tokyo, another city where real estate is highly valued, runs you about $744 a month, and Rome is just a bit cheaper with $718.
Think heading down under will be cheaper? Nope – parking in Sydney will run you about $695 a month and Perth is $717 a month while Melbourne isn’t much better at $598 a month.
Geneva will cost you $705 a month and it even costs $612 a month to park in Oslo.
After reading all this, I will no longer complain about my $35 charge a month for my work parking spot!