Paris to charge higher prices for larger cars to be parked

[LoisPrice]

https://www.topgear.com/car-news/suvs/2024-suv-drivers-will-be-charged-more-parking-paris

yabu they shouldn’t do this

yanbu bigger cars take up ore space and when space is limited the charges should be higher

Fantastic idea

I would love to see this in London. Great idea.

It isn't a million miles from this for residential parking permits in london. Although it is linked to emissions that overlaps a lot with size.

But I don't disagree that city centre parking could be charged by size. No reason for a fiat 500 and a mcmassive SUV to pay the same when they take up a totally different amount of space.

Paris is voting on this right now!

I hope it gets through, and that it heralds the start of a general crackdown on vehicle bloat, not just in Paris but elsewhere.

Why has it taken the world so long to start taking even the tiniest actions about this?

The shift towards EVs needs to go hand in hand with strong moves to push people towards smaller cars, otherwise we are going to end up with serious damage to infrastructure like roads, bridges and car parks (and in the UK, trying to get motorists to actually pay for the infrastructure they cause all this wear and tear on, tends to go down like a cup of cold vomit). That’s even before you get onto the other externalities, like the greatly increased threat to pedestrians.

This seems sensible.

I drive a large car and I support this idea. Perfectly reasonable I should pay more. Good incentive to use our smaller car when it is an option.

They’re thinking of doing this in Ireland too. To be fair what is the story with car sizes now? We have 4 kids and are driving a car that’s smaller than most out there- some are absolute tanks!!

We have 4 kids and are driving a car that’s smaller than most out there- some are absolute tanks!!

Yup, that's the thing. An estate car is usually fine for larger families, and in terms of weight and risk to pedestrians, kids, cyclists etc. is greatly preferable to an SUV.

Obviously it's fine to have a big rugged 4x4 if someone actually lives in the kind of area where they have to plow their way through muddy tracks, uncleared snow, but this isn't the case for most owners.

This is the second big Paris referendum on transport this autumn; a rule banning the free-floating rental e-scooters was passed very recently as well (they were a nuisance to pedestrians, and the evidence suggested they were mostly replacing walking journeys rather than car journeys).

It looks as though this SUV thing will be passed, because the right to vote is limited to those who live in Paris proper, most of whom have no car or only a small car. SUVs are popular among suburban and rural dwellers who live in the outlying regions and who may currently try to drive into Paris by car…. But they won’t have the right to vote on this, so will not have any opportunity to express their own opinions.

Personally, I think driving any sort of car into a big city like Paris is pretty insane. Use a parkNride and the metro etc.

As the UK gradually starts housing more and more people in former-brownfield sites in core urban areas (due to a combination of the housing crisis plus the fact that suburbanites and countryside dwellers get mad when anyone tries to build extra housing near them), we may start to see some similar interesting shifts here, especially if a Labour government also brings in a greater level of devolution for cities.