– It will cost more to park your SUV in Basel
The Rhine city is taking inspiration from Paris by increasing the price of parking for large cars. The measure would also interest Geneva and Lausanne.
Published today at 7:37 p.m.
Cities increasingly want to limit the presence of SUVs on their streets.
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Basel declares war on big cars. From 1er January 2025, residents with large cars will have to pay more for their resident parking card. This would also inspire Geneva and Lausanne, according to the «SonntagsBlick». In Basel, the amount of the sesame will rise to 332 francs per year for cars less than 3.90 m long, compared to 512 francs for those over 4.90 m. For those between these two measures, it will cost 422 francs. Prices which are expected to increase further in 2027.
The goal for the city is to reduce the number of SUVs on the road and ensure that they are parked in underground parking lots rather than on the street. The idea is to be able to free up space on the surface for cycle paths or green spaces.
Basel thus becomes the first Swiss city to have its parking rates adapted to the size of the vehicle. It is inspired by Paris, which took the measure in February. From September, SUV drivers will have to pay 18 euros instead of 6 euros for their hour of parking.
Interested in French-speaking Switzerland
The Basel example could convince other large Swiss cities. Discussions are underway in Zurich, Geneva and Lausanne, according to “SonntagsBlick”. A text along these lines was submitted to the Vaud Grand Council this spring. Furthermore, the Lausanne Municipal Council adopted three resolutions in 2022 to eliminate SUVs from the streets of the Vaud capital.
In Geneva, these vehicles are already penalized but not in terms of parking since the canton applies a much higher tax to SUVs than to others.
SUVs omnipresent in Switzerland
The fact remains that almost one in two new cars sold in Switzerland today is an SUV and they occupy the first six places in the ranking of best-selling models, according to statistics from Auto-Suisse, cited by the Sunday newspaper. A ranking dominated by the Tesla SUV, electric therefore, the Model Y.
But the Basel measure will not only affect SUVs since cars tend to be ever larger. The latest VW Polo, for example, measures 4.05 m long, compared to 3.51 for the first generation. Other cars previously considered small will therefore have to pay more for parking.
Mr Price skeptical
Mr. Price criticizes the tiering of prices which will come into force next year. Wanting to hit the wallet to influence purchasing behavior is acceptable “but only if it is really effective,” explains Stefan Meierhans in “SonntagsBlick”. However, the price monitor doubts that the measure will have a real impact on vehicle registrations.
An opinion shared in part by Alexander Erath, transport expert at the University of Applied Sciences in North-West Switzerland. The price differences would be far too small for this and the cost of parking would have little impact when choosing your car. However, he qualifies his position by citing a recent Basel study which shows that 25% of vehicle owners only use it once a week at most. According to him, they are the ones who would be most likely to do without a car if the price of parking increases.
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