Free parking for electric cars in Aarhus municipality is almost over. And FDM believes that is a clear mistake. So says the chief consultant.
FDM criticizes Aarhus Municipality's decision to abolish free parking for electric cars. From October 1, 2025, electric car owners will have to pay for parking in municipal spaces in Aarhus, just like owners of gasoline and diesel cars.
FDM believes that this could lead to increased pressure on charging stations, as they will continue to offer free parking.
This is what Aarhus Stiftstidende writes.
"The danger of rolling back the measure here is that the charging spaces will now be the only free spaces. And that puts extra pressure on the charging spaces because cars can park for free without necessarily needing to do so," says Dennis Lange, chief consultant at FDM.
Steffen Arnbo Nielsen from Aarhus Municipality acknowledges the problem:
– This is an issue that we are aware of and that we will look into in more detail towards the end of the scheme.
Since 2021, electric cars have been able to park for free for up to four hours in municipal parking lots in Aarhus. The scheme was introduced to promote the use of electric cars and contribute to the green transition.
In the period from 2020 to 2024, the number of electric cars in Aarhus has increased significantly, from 2,018 to 23,450. The free parking has cost the municipality almost 20 million kroner in lost revenue.
Aarhus is not the only municipality that has chosen to limit free parking for electric cars. Copenhagen abolished the scheme already in 2018.
Both the Social Democrats and the Socialist People's Party in Copenhagen want to further limit free parking in the capital, also for cars with combustion engines.
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According to TV2 Kosmopol, the parties want to abolish the current system of free parking from Saturday 5 pm to Monday morning 8 am for drivers without a resident's license.
Astrid Aller from the Socialist People's Party defends the proposal with reference to the need to reduce CO2 emissions from traffic.
– We also press all the other buttons, but the problem is that as long as cars emit so much CO2, we can't just avoid them, it was said in a comment to TV2 Kosmopol.
