Paris votes to triple SUV parking charges

Parisians have voted in favour of tripling the parking costs for sports utility vehicles (SUVs), as the city aims to tackle air pollution and improve road safety.

Residents were asked to decide whether there should be a specific parking rate for ‘heavy and polluting’ vehicles, with the measure supported by 54.55 percent of voters.

Approximately 1.3 million residents of central Paris were eligible to vote but participation was low with just 5.7 percent of eligible residents voting.

“Parisians have made a clear choice…other cities will follow,” Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo said in the aftermath of the decision.

Under Hidalgo’s leadership, the city has sought to raise pressure on drivers by increasing parking costs and reducing on-street parking spaces, while also boosting options for sustainable transport by expanding the bicycle lane network.

How it will work

The cost of on-street parking for an SUV or 4×4 car will rise to €18 (US$19.30) an hour in the centre of Paris and €12 an hour in the rest of the city, with September 2024 suggested as a possible start date.

The prices will apply to combustion engine or hybrid vehicles weighing more than 1.6 tonnes, allowing more leeway for electric vehicles (EVs) with only those weighing more than two tonnes subject to the increased charge.

There are exemptions for taxi drivers, tradespeople, health workers and people with disabilities.

SUV owners in the city centre will not be affected by the rises as street-parking for local residents will remained unchanged.

The measure is primarily aimed at people from the suburbs who drive into the centre for the day.

Paris’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, David Belliard, said about 10 percent of vehicles in Paris would be hit by the higher parking fees, which could bring in up to €35 million for the city each year.

Some interest groups have come out strongly against the vote, including the 40 Millions d’Automobilistes (40 Million Motorists).

“We must firmly oppose these obstructions to freedom carried out under false pretexts, which here are based on a single ridiculous factor: the shape of a vehicle,” the group posted on X (formerly known as Twitter).

Last April, Paris held a similar referendum on whether to ban rented e-scooters and became the first European capital to do so.

But again the city saw a low turnout for the ballot, with just seven percent of registered voters taking part.

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