Zipcar Car Club has recently published a research carried out among 1,800 drivers living within ten miles of the centre of London, Barcelona, Paris and Madrid, driving cars valued up to £15,000 (€20,000).
The research tallied up typical car costs such as road tax, maintenance, insurance, petrol and parking, as well as taking into account depreciation over the year. It shows just how much city drivers are prepared to spend on their cars versus the relatively limited amount of time they spend driving them. In total, the average Londoner spends just 182 hours in their car annually, at a cost of £18.9/€25.2 per hour. Drivers in Paris spend an average of 132.5 hours in their car each year, at a cost of £18.6/€24.7 per hour, while drivers in Barcelona use their car for 197.6 hours a year, at a cost of £11.6/€15.5 per hour. In Madrid, drivers pay £12.1/€16.2 per hour per hour for the 218.4 hours a year they spend driving.
Drivers gave convenience, flexibility and the cost of using public transport as the top reasons for using their car; bad weather and the reliability of public transport were also given as reasons for owning a car in a major city.
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Drivers gave convenience, flexibility and the cost of using public transport as the top reasons for using their car; bad weather and the reliability of public transport were also given as reasons for owning a car in a major city.