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About a month ago I wrote a short article about Parramatta parking. Now I'll tackle the more important Sydney car parking. Sydney has really expensive parking. The average cost of parking a car in Sydney's CBD is $733 a month, making it the fifth most expensive city in the world according to property researcher Colliers International's annual parking rate survey. (The City of London was the most expensive at $US1,020 ($A1,281). , followed by London's West End at $US955 ($A1,199) a month and Amsterdam at $US805 ($A1,011). America's most expensive area was Manhattan in New York, with a median monthly rate of $US550 ($A690). Anyway, point is: if you don't plan ahead - parking your car in Sydney can be an expensive experience.

Car Parking in Sydney or Public Transport?

Most office workers choose to catch the train. They park their cars in the morning at the commuter car parks and jump on a train (or use light rail or ferry). If you Park'n'Ride saves petrol, the frustration of getting stuck in Sydney traffic as well as saving you money on the price of parking in the city. So if you have the choice and can forgo the comfort, avoid driving to the city and parking your car there.

Free Car Parking in Sydney

Let's look for some free car parking in the Sydney CBD. What? there are none?! The nearest free block of car parking is located in Broadway shopping centre where you can get 3 hours of free parking. Then you can head outside, catch a bus for a few dollars in to the Sydney CBD (or walk). During the day, if you run a business and have a truck or a van which can pass as a delivery van you can probably park in the loading zone for free for 15 minutes. If you own a motorcycle or scooter - parking is free in Sydney.

Do you want to know the secret to parking your car for free in Sydney at night? Look around the alleyways around the northern part (around Circular Quay) or the southern part (south of Oxford St and Central) of the city after 10pm (or 6pm for a reduced on street parking rate). You can also park for free in the streets behind the Powerhouse museum if you are more than willing to walk into the city for a night out.

Paid Car Parking in Sydney

Here's where the big money is. Even the government imposed a tax this year to make some money from this money spinner. Paid car parking in the city is really expensive if you don't plan for your car parking in Sydney. There is on-street car parking and car parks provided by the City of Sydney. There are two main car parking companies which have the majority of the market: Wilson Parking and Secure Parking. Personally, I need to park in the city a lot because of my trade. For some reason I tend to always end up in Wilson carparks because they are either the most accessible or the cheapest.

Paid parking in the northern part of Sydney city is the most expensive - since it is the financial district of the CBD. It gets cheaper the further away you are from the north end of Martin Place. Also, if you must drive into the city, you should take advantage of Early-Bird car parking specials - look into their websites. If you drive in at a particular time and drive out after a set time, you are offered a very cheap parking price compared to the normal casual rate. Some early bird rates are $12 for the whole day! While if you end up in the city for a couple of hours and paying casual parking rates you may find yourself forking over $68 for 4-5 hours!

If you guys out there know any tips and parking tricks in Sydney make sure you leave a comment below! Thanks!

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