For the year 2023, parking revenue increased by 19%, without even counting the switch to paid parking at Neudorf and Orangerie. Growth criticized by the municipal opposition, who only sees it as an economic opportunity. But this growth also hides other interesting figures to better understand the reality of parking in Strasbourg, between number of spaces, hourly cost and attendance.
Last December 9the municipal council returned to the parking activity report in Strasbourg. Our elected officials therefore discussed the figures for the year 2023, regarding the way we park in the cityand above all how much it brings to the community.
It must be said that in Strasbourg, 2023 was a pivotal year on the subject since the municipality has launched its major on-street parking reform. Among the big changes, the rate has become more expensive per hour, the resident package has increased for some up to €40/month and above all, the Orangerie and Neudorf districts have become paying in 2024.
On the other side of the spectrum, the municipality has returned to the subject several timesby creating purple spaces in commercial areas, by offering 12 free days to relatives holding a resident pass and by implementing more advantageous parking conditions for professionals and employees .
Brief, parking is a thorny and complex issue in Strasbourg, like every subject that concerns the place of the car in the city [coucou feu le Tram Nord, ndlr]. We therefore delved into the figures for 2023 to establish its different realities, and better understand what we are talking about.
How much did parking bring in to the City in 2023?
This is the main question, the one which concentrates all the debates and criticisms in the municipal council. Concretely, for 2023, the net revenue collected by the City for parking amounts to €10.5 million in 2023, an increase of 19% compared to 2022 (€8.8 million). Revenues which do not yet include the passage of Neudorf and Orangerie into the system, which will undoubtedly increase the figures.
At the same time, a parking space brings in on average €752 to the community compared to €614 in 2022, an increase of 22% [et non pas 86 % comme relayé sans contexte par l’opposition, ce pourcentage correspondant à l’augmentation depuis 2020, ndlr].
How many parking spaces are there in Strasbourg?
Now that we know what this brings to the City, let’s go into detail. As of December 31, 2023, on-street parking in Strasbourg had 13,562 paid spaces, for 537 parking meters.. That is 195 fewer places compared to 2022, or a decrease of 1.41%. To summarize, in 2023, it was possible to park as much in Strasbourg as in 2022.
If the number of places available has only changed significantly, their location is more interesting. In detail:
- 3,927 places are in the red zone, compared to 703 in 2022. There were therefore 3,224 new places in the red zone in 2023an increase of 458%. When you know that the red zone is the most expensive, with a rate of €3.50 per hour, it stings.
- 5,491 places are in the orange zone. A number which increased by 204 places in one year, an increase of 4%.
- If the places in the red zone increase and those in orange stagnate, logically the number of places in the green zone will decrease sharply. In 2023, there were 3,951 places in green zone compared to 7,767 in 2022. 3,816 places were therefore eliminated in the cheapest zone, a drop of 49%.
- Finally, 193 new purple places, of very short duration, were createdspread over the red and orange zones with commercial sectors.
To summarize, in 2023, a lot of places in the most expensive zone have been put in place, offset by the disappearance of places in the cheapest zone of the City. However, this report does not take into account the passage of Neudorf and Orangerie into the fold of paid parking, the two districts being in the green zone. For 2024, at least 8,000 additional places have been created, in the least expensive zone.
How much does it cost on average to park in Strasbourg?
In April 2023, parking in Strasbourg became more expensive, in particular because there were more spaces in the red zone. A reality that is reflected in the figures, since parking for 1 hour in our city now costs on average €2.60, compared to €1.73 in 2022.. An average price increase of 50%.
At the same time, the average ticket increases by 18% in the red zone (€3.30), by 10% in the orange zone (€2.68), but above all almost triples in the green zone (€2.73).
Knowing that you have to pay €3.50 to park for 1 hour in the red zone, €2.50 in the orange zone and €1 in the green zone, we can draw the following conclusions:
- In Strasbourg, we generally stay less than an hour parked in the red zone. On average, a place sees 3.8 vehicles pass per day (down compared to 2022).
- In the orange zone, you park for just over an hour. On average, 3.53 vehicles park in the same space per day (down compared to 2022)
- In zone see you in revenge, the average parking duration is more than 2 hours, and is approaching 2.5 hours. Here, for one day and one space, 2.7 cars park.
Finally, how can we talk about the price of parking without mentioning that of the post-parking package (FPS)? Fine set at €17 (and €35 in the event of payment after 3 days), it was delivered 189,521 times by Streeteo, out of 2.7 million checks, i.e. a rate of 7%.up compared to 2022. With the increase in prices, fewer people pay for their parking, preferring to “try their luck”, since €17 is equivalent to 2h50 in the red zone, 3h45 in orange and 4h45 in green.
How is attendance evolving?
Last question: that of the use of paid parking spaces. Another consequence of the increase in prices in April 2023 is that it falls in Strasbourg. And not just a little: in one year, it goes from 4,684,752 tickets issued to 3,922,808, a decrease of 16%. Attendance which returns to the level of 2020, during covid.
In detail, lThe red zone concentrates more than 29% of hourly tickets (compared to 9% in 2022) and its attendance increases by 281%, due to the increase in the number of places. LAttendance in the orange zone drops by 30%, and goes from 40% to almost 34% of hourly tickets, while lThe green zone represents nearly 36% of total attendance (compared to 51% in 2022). Finally, the new purple seats represent a little more than 1% of hourly tickets. In short, we park a lot in the red zone, since there are more and more of them, and we park less in the green zone, because the number of available spaces has dropped.
The moment recap’: 6 figures to remember
Because statistics can quickly be disorienting, here’s a quick recap of some of the most important figures to remember regarding paid parking in Strasbourg for the year 2023:
- €10.5 million: revenue from paid parking for the City in 2023. A figure increasing by 19% between 2022 and 2023, and which does not yet take into account the passage of Neudorf and Orangerie into the system, which risks further increasing the amount.
- 684,752: the number of parking tickets issued. A drop in attendance compared to 2023, explained simply: parking is more expensive, so we park less.
- €752: what a parking space per day brings to the City. An increase of 22% in one year, despite the drop in attendance.
- 3 927 et 3,951: respectively the number of places in red zone and green zone in 2023. On the one hand, those located in the most expensive area increased by 458%; on the other, places in the cheapest area have fallen by half. To summarize: the parking policy has resulted in 2023 in a huge increase in parking spaces which are very expensive per hour.
- €2.60: what 1 hour of parking costs on average in Strasbourg. A figure increasing by 50% compared to 2022.
- €17: the price of the FPS (€35 if paid after 72 hours). A fine given more in 2023 than in 2022 which can be explained simply: €17 equivalent to 2h50 in red zone, 3h45 in orange and 4h45 in greenmore people are “taking their chances” and not paying for parking.
2023 was a pivotal year for parking in Strasbourg. The increase in prices, the reduction in places in the least expensive areas and the growth of those in the most expensive areas have disrupted the habits of Strasbourg residents, as the figures attest. We will also have to take a close look at 2024, with the integration of Neudorf and Orangerie into the system, in order to concretely measure the effects of the municipality’s policy. In the meantime, the subject has not ceased to fascinate the crowds.
