Citizens vote for visitor tariff
Paris triples parking fees for SUVs
February 4, 2024, 11:08 p.m
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The French capital is making life difficult for visitors with large cars: parking fees for SUVs and other heavyweights have tripled. A slim majority of Parisians voted for the plans, which, however, left out local residents.
In a citizen survey in Paris, a majority voted in favor of a drastic increase in parking fees for heavy city off-road vehicles. This means that the city administration’s plan was implemented, according to which one hour of parking for SUVs and other heavy cars in the center should cost 18 euros instead of the usual 6 euros and in the outskirts 12 euros instead of 4 euros. For six hours of parking in the center you will have to pay 225 euros instead of the previous 75 euros.
Around 1.3 million residents of the capital took part in the vote under the motto “More or less SUV in Paris?” called. According to the provisional final results, only just under six percent of them took part in the vote. Around 54.5 percent voted in favor of increasing parking fees, around 45.5 percent against it. The city’s argument for higher fees for SUVs: The heavy bodies caused increased environmental pollution, took up a lot of public space and endangered traffic safety. The special tariff for large cars was intended to limit the nuisance they cause.
Only visitors should pay the special tariff for SUVs. Residents should be excluded, as should tradesmen and care services. The tariff should apply to combustion engine and hybrid models weighing 1.6 tons or more and electric models weighing two tons or more. The regulation does not apply to private parking garages.
The car lobby accuses the minister of manipulation
“The bigger the cars, the more they pollute the environment,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo in December, justifying the move. Hidalgo described the car category affected by the fee increase as “noisy, space-consuming and environmentally damaging.” The opposition and the car lobby accuse the socialist mayor of manipulation because Parisians’ cars are left out.
Germany is also looking at the plans in Paris. Hanover’s Green Mayor Belit Onay advocated making parking for so-called SUVs more expensive. The Paris citizen survey shows once again that the debate needs to be about the limited public space and more appropriate pricing for parking. All major European cities face this challenge.