In research undertaken between December 2009 and January 2010, Virgin Car Insurance analysed Australian capital cities and Regional Centres on a number of key criteria to determine a ranking system for the ‘friendliest’ cities to drive in.
Key criteria differed slightly between capital cities and regional cities, but both included data such as the average petrol price, cost of competitive car insurance, cost of vehicle registration, expired parking fines, cost of two hour metered parking, and the cost of toll roads per kilometre within a city.
Unsurprisingly, Sydney emerged as the ‘unfriendliest’ capital city, with the highest costs recorded for owning a car, cost of petrol, parking and road tolls compared to other major cities. Perth, on the other hand, was the best place to drive, with the cheapest petrol prices, the lowest parking rates, and no toll roads.
In the regional centres, Davenport (in Tasmania) was the clear winner, whilst Newscastle, Wollongong and Gosford the worst.
The full listings and rankings can be viewed here.