Taxi of mum and dad 'would cost £55 a week at black cab rates' The taxi service of mum and dad would cost around £55 a week if charged at black cab rates, a survey has found. Parents are each clocking up more than 1,000 miles, putting nearly £2,000 on the family 'meter' and spending more than three full days' waiting time each year as they act as unpaid chauffeurs for their children. Collectively Britain's ten million parents are clocking up an annual bill of nearly £20billion in running costs plus another £10billion 'waiting time', according to the study by Sainsbury's Bank car insurance. Britain's parents are clocking up more than 1,000 miles driving around their children It shows that more than 10 million parents devote time to driving their children around covering an average of 20.05 miles a week. At taxi rates this would be worth £35.80. In addition, parents spend an average of one hour and 32 minutes sitting in their cars waiting around for their children. This 'waiting time' is worth another £20.40. So when 'waiting time' is added to the running time, the average parent who drives his or her children around offering an unpaid service equivalent to £56.20 a week in taxi fares, or £2,922 a year. Collectively that is around £30billion a year. But there are also big regional variations. Parents in London clock up the biggest 'fares' at £53.65 a week or £2,789 a year. They are followed by those in the East Midlands at £46.34 a week or £2,409 a year, the North West at £44.90 a week or £2,292 a year, and Yorkshire and Humberside at £36.37 a week or £1,891 a year. Lowest parental taxi 'fares' are in the North East at £24.90 a week or £1,294 a year and the West Midlands at £1,359 a year. A black taxi cab makes its way over Westminster Bridge in London. Parents in the capital spend more ferrying their children around like a taxi driver than anywhere else in the country Some parents cover huge distances ferrying their children around, with over 950,000 parents driving their children more than 50 miles a week. Emily Fleming, Sainsbury Bank's car insurance manager said: 'Parents devote a huge amount of time taking their children to various extra-curricular activities and our research reveals that on average, each parent is worth the equivalent to around £56 a week in taxi fares. All that motoring is a significant financial commitment with parents spending an estimated £1.3billion on petrol, driving their children to social, sporting and recreational events each year.  Miss Fleming continued: 'A quarter of parents told us that the time spent in the car with their child strengthens their bond with 14 per cent saying it's the best time to raise difficult issues with their kids. It would appear the car journey provides a real solution to the myriad of electronic distractions which may hamper conversations in the home.