Turning parking spaces into better living space

Today’s cities are feeling the squeeze of skyrocketing housing costs. And one of the reasons is parking—it’s expensive to build and takes up valuable space. But car sharing helps make housing affordable and sustainable, while reducing the need for parking and supporting transit-oriented development. It also aligns with green building and housing standards, as well as urban planning. Incorporating car sharing into parking plans helps cities, developers, and residents save money while making communities more livable, affordable, and sustainable.  

• 80% of members live in multifamily housing. 

• 75% of members rent. 

• 20% have no parking available at their residence. 

Here's how Zipcar is helping with affordable city living 

Car sharing helps with housing costs 

Housing and parking are deeply connected, especially in cities where parking structures cost big bucks. Car sharing cuts down on the need for personal parking, while allowing developers to allocate more resources to affordable housing.  

The high cost of personal parking 

• $225 per month increase in rent for a parking spot for a personally owned vehicle.¹ 

• $20,000–$50,000 increase in cost per unit for each additional parking spot for a personally owned vehicle.² 

• 20–30% reduction in construction costs when a Zipcar location is near a residential building.³ 

Freeing up space saves cities millions 

BOSTON 

• $24,078 cost per personal parking garage space. 

• 8,400 spaces freed up by Zipcar. 

• $204 million saved in parking construction via car sharing. 

NYC 

• $36,018 cost per personal parking garage space. 

• 26,598 spaces freed up by Zipcar. 

• $958 million saved in parking construction via car sharing.   

Zipcar-specific data was collected as part of Zipcar’s 2024 North American Transportation Survey, with a sample size of approximately 5,922 respondents in North America.  

^{1 https://www.reinventingparking.org/2015/06/how-much-does-one-parking-spot-add-to.html} 

^{2 International Transport Forum. 2023.} 

^{3 International Transport Forum. 2023.} 

^{4 https://publications.wginc.com/parking-structure-construction-cost-outlook-2022} 

^{5 Calculated by multiplying the fleet size of each market by 13—based on the 2010 Journal of the Transportation Research Board study that each car-share vehicle frees up 13 parking spaces.} 

^{6 Calculated by multiplying the spaces freed by the cost per parking space in each market.}