Paris wants to triple SUV parking charges

Non-residential parking charges for sports utility vehicles (SUVs) in Paris could triple to €18 (US$19.37) an hour in the centre and €12 an hour in the rest of the city, officials have revealed.

The rise is dependent on the result of a recently announced referendum that will take place next February asking residents to vote on a special tariff for the vehicles.

“This is about very expensive cars, driven by people who today have not yet made the changes to their behaviour that have to be made,” said Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The charges would apply to owners of an internal combustion engine or plug-in hybrid vehicle weighing 1.6 tonnes or more, or an electric vehicle weighing over 2 tonnes. They will not apply to Parisian-owned vehicles in residential parking zones.

“SUVs cost between €6,000 to €7,000 more than a standard car and all the studies by car firms show that they are bought by the wealthiest people with high incomes,” said David Belliard, Paris’ deputy mayor for mobility.

“This measure, if applied, will be directed at the richest people in order to finance the transformation of our public space to adapt to the climate crisis, so it’s a form of social redistribution.”

Metro increase

The city recently announced that it plans to almost double metro ticket prices during next summer’s Olympic and Paralympic Games.

A single metro ticket will increase from €2.10 to €4 for the period of 20 July until 8 September, a few days either side of the events.

The temporary hike has been described as a “fair price” by Valérie Pécresse, President of the Île-de-France region, the authority with responsibility for the city’s public transport.

The price increase will only impact visitors to the city, however – with residents’ monthly and yearly metro passes unaffected.

“During the Olympics and the Paralympics, the Île-de-France region will dramatically increase its transport offer – it is out of the question that the residents support that cost,” said Pécresse.

“Public services have a cost and pretending otherwise is a lie. If it’s not the visitors who pay, it’s going to be the tax payer.”

The region also announced that it would introduce a Paris 2024 pass that will allow visitors to travel throughout the city for €16 a day or up to €70 a week.

In November, Mayor Hidalgo warned that public transport services could be “insufficient” during the event, citing the frequency of trains in certain areas.

Image: Alex Harmuth unsplash