Le paid parking for two-wheelers with internal combustion engines, which comes into force on Thursday 1er September in Paris, promises to spill a lot more ink and generate thousands of publications on social networks. An incandescent subject where climatic urgency and freedom of movement mingle. For the City of Paris, and in particular its Deputy Mayor for Transport, David Belliard (EELV), it is a question of better organizing public space and limiting the circulation of polluting vehicles in the capital. “It was our commitment during the municipal elections of 2020. It is time to abandon gasoline and turn to less polluting and less noisy vehicles”, argues the elected environmentalist.
For opponents, the end of free access amounts to penalizing all people working on two wheels and those who commute between the outer suburbs and Paris. “It is a discriminatory measure which weighs in particular on suburbanites. Cycling is good when you live in Paris, but not 40 or 50 kilometers from Paris where you come to work, ”insists Jean-Marc Belotti, coordinator of the Paris branch of the Federation of Angry Bikers. . For seven years, this organization has been fighting against paid parking, already in force in the two neighboring towns of Charenton-le-Pont and Vincennes (Val-de-Marne). She filed an appeal against the measure before the administrative court. On August 30, David Belliard and Jean-Marc Belotti met, separating on an acknowledgment of failure. If the Federation of Angry Bikers has not planned a demonstration on the 1er September, she does not rule out organizing some in the coming weeks.
“The gas factory” of tariffs
From this Thursday, all owners of two-wheelers wishing to park in Paris must be registered via a form available online. Parking remains free for electric scooters, which have a low-emission vehicle ticket (VBE), home care professionals and people with disabilities. Motorcyclists and scooter drivers now pay a visitor or residential rate if their main home is in the capital, parking either in dedicated spaces marked motorcycles or PTWs, or in the paid parking strip used by cars.
The rate is roughly equivalent to half the parking charge paid for a car. For visiting two-wheelers, zone 1, which is more central because it extends from 1er at 11e district, costs 3 euros per hour. Please note that the price increases beyond two consecutive hours (12 euros for 3 hours, 25 euros for 6 hours). Zone 2, which goes from 12e at 20e district, costs 2 euros per hour (8 euros for 3 hours, 25 euros for 6 hours). For individuals or resident professionals, they can take out a subscription of 22.50 euros for one year and benefit when they park their two-wheelers from a rate of 0.75 euros per day and 4.50 euros per week.
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Boom in sales of electric models
So-called “mobile” professionals who work in Paris and live in the capital or the neighboring departments (Hauts-de-Seine, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne) can obtain a subscription at 120 euros per year, with a cost of 0.25 euro per hour of parking. In addition, David Belliard argues that there are solutions for motorcyclists who come from afar to work in Paris intramural. “We have made agreements with a hundred car parks in order to set up a pass. It costs 90 euros per month if the main parking lot of the owner of the scooter or motorcycle is in zone 1 and 70 euros in zone 2”, he explains.
For Jean-Marc Belotti, the pricing implemented is a “gas factory disproportionate to the size of the two-wheeler, because you can put three or four on a car parking space”. The number of places reserved for motorized two-wheelers is estimated at around 42,000. The municipality of Paris promises 4,000 more. “There are around 100,000 scooters and motorcycles passing through Paris. We want to encourage migration to other forms of mobility”, underlines the deputy mayor, who mentions more than 6,000 residential parking lots granted, 2,500 professional rights, nearly 1,700 rights for electric PTWs and 80 for disabled PTWs. .
One thing is certain: many motorcyclists are preparing to sell their thermal two-wheelers. There should be good deals on the second-hand market in Île-de-France. For their part, sales of electric models, scooters and motorcycles will soar in the coming months.
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