poll
Drastically higher parking fees for SUVs in Paris soon?
In the survey, the people of Paris can decide whether parking fees in public parking lots for heavy city off-road vehicles should be tripled. photo
© Michael Evers/dpa
Driving into the city of Paris in an SUV or a big limousine can soon become really expensive. On Sunday, residents will vote on tripling parking fees for SUVs.
Just one hour of parking in the center would cost 18 euros instead of the usual six euros, and in the outskirts it would cost 12 euros instead of four euros. If you park for several hours, the fees increase disproportionately the longer you park. 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 city administration received strong criticism even before the vote.
The automobile club “40 million d’automobilistes” has already launched a petition to “Stop the fight against SUVs”, because there are also plans to increase parking fees for heavy cars in other major French cities such as Lyon, Bordeaux and Grenoble. The automobile club speaks of a hidden measure to make it harder for as many people as possible to drive in cities.
Almost every second new registration in France is an SUV
In the first half of 2023, 46 percent of new registrations in France were SUVs, which shows that the cars are popular. The victims of the increased parking rates are primarily families who treat themselves to a car with more space. It is foreseeable that the restrictions will be tightened overall. “Make no mistake: This war against SUVs is just a loophole to eradicate the car as a whole.”
The city emphasizes that the special tariff for large cars is intended to limit the nuisance they cause. “This vote should send a message to automobile manufacturers. Their pursuit of profit, which consists of deliberately selling ever larger, more fuel-efficient and more expensive vehicles, is endangering ecological change.” With the vote on Sunday, the population could calm down the public space and support a new social model.
30 km/h and more cycle paths
In Paris, the fight against SUVs is part of a traffic turnaround that has been pushed forward for years by the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo and the red-green city government. Despite considerable resistance, Hidalgo had several streets along the Seine closed to cars and made them accessible to pedestrians. The cycle path network in Paris is growing, which means the number of car lanes and parking spaces is being reduced. New green spaces are being created and 30 km/h speed limits have been introduced almost everywhere in the city, and parking fees have been charged for gasoline-powered scooters for a while.
At the end of August, e-scooter rentals in Paris also ended after a citizen survey showed that a majority spoke out against the scooters, which made traffic unsafe and were often lying around all over the place. On the city highway, the busy “Périphérique”, Hidalgo also wants to reduce the speed limit from 70 to 50, and there is a hail of protest here too.
Special rate for visitors only
Only visitors should pay the special tariff for SUVs. Residents of the capital should be excluded, as should craftsmen and nursing 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.
As the business newspaper “Les Échos” calculated based on registration data, the increased parking fees would affect almost 900,000 cars in the capital region of Île-de-France, around 16 percent of the vehicle population. What’s surprising is that around half of the cars affected are not SUVs at all, but rather heavy sedans and vans.
Environmental aid calls for higher parking fees in Germany
A few days ago in Germany, the German Environmental Aid (DUH) called on all German cities to set higher parking fees for ever larger SUVs, following the example of Paris. “These monster SUVs are increasingly blocking sidewalks and green spaces and endangering people who are on foot or cycling. The megalomania surrounding SUVs must be stopped,” said DUH Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch.
In addition to parking fees, there must be binding size and weight requirements for cars. The General German Automobile Club (ADAC) criticized the DUH demand. “However, higher parking fees for vehicles weighing over 1.6 tons cannot be a solution.” This would also affect vehicles that are not SUVs at all.