SUV parking in Paris: An important signal to manufacturers and customers or harassment?

The newly drastically increased parking fees for heavy vehicles in Paris are causing an outcry even in the metropolis where many things are notoriously expensive. Starting in September, parking for one hour in the city center will cost heavy SUVs and other hefty vehicles 18 euros per hour, while six hours will amount to 225 euros. In a referendum on Sunday, a majority approved the city's plan to triple parking fees for heavy vehicles. Mayor Anne Hidalgo thus secured backing for another step in the city's shift towards sustainable transportation, which she has been pushing for years despite resistance.

"The Parisians are the vanguard of a movement; many cities will surely follow suit," said the Socialist Hidalgo after the decision. "They want to remove these heavy vehicles from the streets, for environmental reasons and safety." The heavy vehicles contribute to increased pollution, take up a lot of public space, and compromise traffic safety, the city argues. The same points of criticism are frequently raised in Germany.

Around 1.3 million people were called to vote in the referendum titled "More or less SUVs in Paris?" Some 54.5 percent voted in favor of the fee increase, while approximately 45.5 percent were against it. Participation in the referendum was just under six percent. Objections that the result was therefore hardly representative were not accepted by the city administration. After all, tens of thousands of people had taken the opportunity for direct citizen involvement. The special fee for heavy vehicles in Paris is meant exclusively for visitors. Residents, as well as craftsmen and care services, are to be exempt. The fee will apply to combustion and hybrid models weighing 1.6 tons or more and electric models from two tons upwards. The regulation does not apply to private parking garages.

Mixed Reactions in Germany

In Germany, the Paris decision on parking fees received mixed reactions. The German Environmental Aid (DUH) welcomed the outcome. "This is a wake-up call for German cities to follow Paris's example and also introduce higher parking fees in their city centers for city tanks, pickups, and other oversized vehicles," said DUH managing director Jürgen Resch. Those who purchase an oversized vehicle would then have to park it in a motorhome or truck parking lot on the outskirts of the city.

"This decision is the overdue signal to the automotive industry that the high ecological costs of ton-heavy city tanks can no longer be offloaded onto society as a whole," said Greenpeace mobility expert Clara Thompson. "These vehicles are rolling wastefulness. They consume too many resources, too much space, and too much clean air." It is good that the people of Paris no longer want to tolerate this waste. Leaders worldwide
—including in Germany—should take this as an example.

The Federation for Environment and Nature Conservation Germany (BUND) called for higher parking fees so that parked cars do not unnecessarily hinder the use of public space for other purposes. "However, the necessary measures to reduce and increase the cost of parking spaces should always be implemented in conjunction with the implementation of an urban traffic concept that includes sufficient alternatives to private cars," said BUND traffic expert Jens Hilgenberg.