Parking lot, Oslo City Hall | Significant reduction in parking prices: here it will be almost free

TOSEN, OSLO (NETAVISEN): When the bourgeois city council took power in Oslo after the elections, transport councilor Marit Kristin Via (5th) promised a Christmas gift for the ages to motorists in the outer boroughs: residents would get free parking in January.

When Nettavisen checks with the city council whether the promise has now been kept, the answer is “almost”.

– The price was set at one krona for technical reasons. The system did not handle the transition to zero. “It was delivered as promised,” says Via.

Nettavisen meets the new transport board in Tåsen, which is located in Nordre Aker, one of the areas that will benefit from the fare reduction.

He had to leave the sick son (7) to park the car: – It's pointless

– It doesn't solve anything

The price will be discounted for 2,850 car drivers with resident parking in Oslo. The annual price drops from NOK 3,200 for fossil fuel cars and NOK 1,360 for electric cars.

However, those who do not live on site will still have to pay for parking (see prices in fact box).

Parking price without a resident card

– This is one of the promises made by the city council, which we delivered as quickly and efficiently as possible. “I didn't want to be an enemy of motorists, but at the same time make sure we have an effective climate policy,” says Via.

The regions now receiving a payment of 1 kroner are Stovner, Nordre Aker, Bjerke, Alna, Ullern and Vestre Aker. In some of these areas, parking is only available to residents in parts of the counties.

The city council believes higher parking fees, introduced by the previous red-green city council, do not solve climate challenges.

– It doesn't solve anything for the climate if people pay T-shirts to park on the street. “I think this is just a show of hands for motorists, which does not come at the expense of our climate and environmental goals,” she says.

Having to buy an electric car: – Unfair

– Live with the broken promise

Vea believes the reduction will be positive for the environment, because she believes the change will lead to more areas offering parking to residents. An arrangement that gives site residents preference for street parking.

– But it's not quite free as promised, is it?

– This broken promise, I can live with it. I think people can handle one kroner, says the city councilor and laughs.

It is estimated that the Corona virus will also disappear within a few months, if the technology is at their fingertips.

– It is a show of hands for the residents of these areas, who, like many others, have significant expenses, and at the same time it can have a positive environmental and traffic impact because it can reduce foreign traffic and foreign parking, says Via. .

-But is it fair to reduce the price only for those who live in the outer areas?

The reason we cut off the outer city is that in the inner city there is more pressure on the areas and there are better public transportation services. She points out that it is easier not to use a car there.

Toll shock: Prices of fossil fuel cars will triple

Millennium Development Goals: – Punish the majority

Former Environment and Transport Council member Serene Staff (MDG) complains about the price cuts introduced by his successor.

– When the Conservatives and Liberals have now reduced residents' parking prices to almost zero, while at the same time increasing public transport prices, they are penalizing the vast majority in Oslo who bike, walk and travel by public transport, Stav tells Netafsen.

She points out that the MDGs also reduced parking prices for outer-city residents.

– But we did it at the same time as reducing public transport prices, points out Staff, who believes the money should have been used differently.

This money could have been used to make public transportation better and cheaper, to make school routes and bike paths safer, or to invest in making car sharing easier – so that more people would not have to rely on private cars in their daily lives. Says.