This is how politicians think about parking fees at NUS

We emailed all group leaders in Region Västerbotten this question:

What does your party think about the parking fees at Norrland University Hospital? Do you think they should be lowered or raised?

Here are the parties that responded:

Nicklas Sandström (M): “We understand if it is perceived as expensive for those who have to take the car to the hospital. Lowering the cost would mean that the region would have to save on something else. Right now, the healthcare deficit for 2019 points to about SEK 800 million. The hospital's parking is also part of a larger area, including the university and the travel center. Therefore, pricing needs are reasonably similar. In the long term, more visits need to be done in primary care or over the internet. Then patients do not have to come to the hospital at all. "

Ewa-May Karlsson (C): “It is very expensive and unfortunately most patients and relatives who have already traveled a long way with their own car and have high costs for it.

Unfortunately, when we have not worked public transport, our own car is the only alternative if it does not become a medical trip, but it becomes even more expensive. In addition, the region has a fairly high cost of self-sufficiency, which is allowed to stand at SEK 100 per single trip and only SEK 10 mil in travel allowance. Which means you have to have more than 10 miles one way to get something out. If you report each trip and reach SEK 1,600 in deductible, the high cost protection will apply.

We need to get to a system where patients should have low alternative free parking and those who could really go collectively choose that alternative. We win this from both an environmental and economic perspective.

The parking situation around NUS and the University is incredibly strained and it costs both time and money to spin around just to find parking. Here, it needs a better solution.

Would be exciting if it was possible to analyze how many vehicles would disappear if public transport was used in a different way. "

GREEN PARTY

Emma Lindqvist (MP): “The environmental party wants as many people as possible to walk, cycle or ride collectively. If the parking fee is raised, the chance is greater that we are thinking about when choosing a vehicle. There are people who should visit NUS as a patient who have no alternative to car. These people often live several miles from Umeå and to these the region reimburses costs over SEK 100. The MP therefore thinks that the parking fees are at a good level. "

LEFT

LiseLotte Olsson (V): “For the Left Party, equality always comes first - when we change the climate, it must be done equally.

We want to stimulate travel by public transport, and are happy to eliminate much of the traffic around the hospitals in the region, for the environment, health and road safety reasons. The region must also have fees that do not deviate too much from the municipal and university fees, otherwise traffic from those parking will be moved to the hospital parking. However, not everyone can travel collectively when they visit the health care and for those who have many and recurring visits, eg parents with severely ill children, we would like to see a different solution than the ones we have today.

We are working to get a review to find a solution for the parking fees, so that the cost does not unreasonably affect those who have recurring parking needs in connection with hospital visits. "

CHRISTIAN DEMOCRATS

Hans-Inge Smetana (KD): “Interesting question. We are currently reviewing the routines for sick leave as we see that the expensive sick leave has increased significantly in recent times. And as you probably know, the economy of Västerbotten has little to be desired. So we need to look over all accounts.

That being said, we want to increase collective travel for the sake of the environment. But we also know that even if we increase public transport, it will not work for everyone. And then we come to an accessibility aspect when it is so tough to find a parking when you go to NUS and if you find one then you have to pay properly.

In the election, we as a party assumed that it should be free to park when going to NUS. Routines should be found so that this opportunity is not overused by others and that it can increase car driving. But coupled with looking at the other travel routines, ways can be found to create better accessibility for visiting NUS and at the same time having the environmental aspect. ”

SOCIAL DEMOCRATS

Peter Olofsson answered in an interview with SVT:

"We definitely think it's too expensive," says Peter Olofsson (S), chairman of the regional board.

Peter Olofsson believes that they cannot set a lower price, because the prices are raised by the surrounding parking lots owned by Umeå municipality and Akademiska Hus.

- If we had completely different prices than the university and the other Umeå municipality, our parking would crash. However, we are looking at finding a solution for those who are forced to stay at the hospital for a long time. There we want to find ways to differentiate the parking fee, he says.

The Swedish Democrats and Liberals have not answered the question.