By Colm Phelan

When the first Dublin Bus strike took place last month, thousands of commuters were forced to find an alternative for their daily commute.

Many people took to their cars, as well as other modes of transport such as Irish Rail or Luas.

An estimated 400,000 people use Dublin Bus every weekday, with this number carrying through to weekends when large sporting events and concerts take place.

However, the bus strike didn’t just impact on the daily commute but also what came out of commuter pockets; particularly those who decided to drive their own vehicle as opposed to another means of public transport.

Dublin City Council currently has six zones for hourly parking rates, ranging from €0.60 in the outer suburbs to €2.90 in inner city areas. This means that any commuter working 9-5pm in the city centre would pay up to €23.20 were they to choose street parking.

In Dublin, cars can only park for a maximum of three hours in one place but all-day parkers will often simply move their car to a nearby location to get around the rule.

In Galway and Cork, cars are charged at a maximum of €2 per hour. However, both cities have a cap, and a two-hour stay is the maximum allowed.

Multi-storey parking is the cheaper option for those driving but that too is an expensive substitute.

Q-Park multi-storey parking is available in all three cities, but the costs vary widely.

Dublin works out the most expensive, at €3.50 per hour. However, you do have the option to pre-book from 9am to 6pm at a rate of €13.

Considering the maximum fare for Dublin Bus is €3.30 for anything thirteen stages or over, that equates to a minimum of a €6.40 excess for commuters who pre-book and park at Q-Park.

With six strikes taking place in total, that adds up to €38.40 to cover each day of the controversial industrial action.

Q-Park in Galway offers a rate of €2.50 per hour, with the option of booking eight hours for €8.

Q-Park in Cork also offers a cheaper hourly rate than Dublin at €3.00 per hour, although they offered the same special rate of €13 from 9am to 6pm.