If you live in a heavily populated city, chances are you struggle with parking, especially if you need to park near a busy train station or public transport depot or drive to work. More often than not, you’ll have to circle around the block a few times before a vehicle finally vacates its spot for you to fill. In a haste to not be late, you might have to settle for a spot a little further away from the office or station, which you still have to rush to in order to be on time. Here are some of the most popular reasons for needing parking;
1. Your workplace has no parking available
If you’re lucky, your workplace will have a car park designated for staff. However, not all buildings will have this available. If your building doesn’t have this, you might have to park along the street. If you’re lucky, you will find full day parking in a small amount of time. You might even have a little parking area close to your work building to utilize. Often, however, parking can be expensive, particularly if you require the space on a monthly basis. Finding affordable parking may force you to park a long distance from your building and you could be late for that all-important meeting or get drenched in the rain.
2. Public Transport is insufficient
Sometimes your home or workplace has no train stations or bus stops in the near vicinity. This can be a little bit of an issue, making you dependent on your vehicle or ridesharing. If you do have a car, you’ll have to find parking around your workplace or home. This often isn’t ideal as you have to constantly worry about leaving home earlier to ensure you find parking or have enough time to walk to work if you are forced to park far away.
Searching for a parking space may be a once-a-month thing or it might be every day. Regardless of the reason or frequency, you’ll still need to park somewhere close to public transport, the shops or your office building. If your building doesn’t have available visitor or staff parking, you might be stuck trying to navigate busy streets for hours on end. There are three main parking providers in Australia attempting to make parking easier for commuters and residents. We compare Secure Parking, Wilson Parking and Parkhound to help you determine which can best assist you.
Secure Parking
Their journey in the car parking industry began 40 years ago and they have continued to expand all over the country as well as travelling overseas to New Zealand. Secure Parking now has over 600 car parks all over Australia and New Zealand, making it one of the largest car parking operators in the country that’s Australian-owned. Their website is able to locate car parks within your desired area and similar rates apply across most of the lots. Dependent on the area, some facilities may have different rates. Higher rates are normally found in the city centre rather than the suburbs.
Secure Parking offers numerous services such as Early Bird Rates to help make parking more affordable for workers, Monthly Parking for anyone who needs a more long-term solution, and night parking for those who don’t have parking close to their homes or who work night shifts. Secure-A-Spot is where individuals book a space online and Secure Parking offers a lower price for these customers. Payment can also be made on the spot.
Wilson Parking
Wilson Parking started in 1962 in Perth and has since spread throughout Australasia, into countries such as New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China. It has more recently been acquiring car parks in densely populated areas such as Sydney and Melbourne CBD’s in order to provide for more of their customers. They cater to many markets, including the student population, by providing discounted rates with a student concession card. This will only work with specific car parks, such as the one on Quay Street that is just across the road from UTS (University of Technology Sydney).
Corporate clients are also able to gain a Wilson Parking PlatinumPark card which allows them to have access to multiple Wilson car parks. Wilson Parking have extended this privilege to the general public, allowing them to experience the benefits that come with having the access card. In 2010, Wilson Parking launched their app ParkMate which helps their customers find Wilson car parks in their general vicinity. This has helped a lot of the younger generations as technology has advanced and many are trying to find parking online.
Parkhound
Being a part of the sharing economy, Parkhound has enabled the average person to earn some extra money while helping people in need of parking, whether it be for the day, week, or monthly parking. Through their online platform, Hosts list their parking spaces onto the platform with details including size and how long drivers are able to rent it out for. Parkhound helps cities optimise existing space whilst offering drivers convenience and affordability. The service has been operating since 2013 and has followed the trend that sees more and more people using their own underutilised assets to help others in their local community, whilst earning some handy extra income in the process.
Parkhound aims to solve long-term parking issues, particularly for individuals working in difficult to park areas or locations with minimal public transport options. However, if customers are looking for a parking spot for a day trip, Parkhound also offers daily parking to meet short-term needs.
Secure Parking vs Wilson Parking vs Parkhound
Secure Parking | Wilson Parking | Parkhound | |
---|---|---|---|
Daily Parking Rates | $45 | $37 | $11 |
Monthly Parking Rates | N/A | $750* | $575** |
* This rate was disclosed from Wilson Parking on 259 George Street, Sydney. Rates may be subject to change with varying locations.
** Sellers will offer different rates, whether it be by the day, week or month. Some Sellers only offer daily parking while others will offer monthly.
All of these parking solutions are great in their own way. Choosing a parking service depends on what you are looking for. If you’re looking for central locations and added security, Wilson Parking and Secure Parking are good options for you. If you are searching for affordability and convenience, Parkhound is the right fit for you.
If you have an unused parking space at home, why not rent it out on Parkhound to earn some extra cash? To find out more about how to earn passive income, check out the website.