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Parking ticket machine in Hanover

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte/ dpa

Stuttgart, Hamburg and Düsseldorf earn the most money with parked cars among the 16 state capitals. As the "Welt am Sonntag" reported, referring to a survey in all federal states, the income from parking fees and fines in the three cities last year was around 40 euros per inhabitant. In Erfurt, Hanover, Saarbrücken, Mainz and Bremen, on the other hand, it was not even 20 euros.

In absolute terms, Berlin was at the forefront of parking revenues with 114 million euros, followed by the metropolises of Hamburg with 75 million euros and Munich with 53 million euros.

According to the report, the figures include income from parking meters, fees for resident parking permits and fines from parking offenders. Of the total revenues of all state capitals in the amount of 355 million euros, the following were accounted for in the previous year.

  • 48 percent on classic parking fees,

  • 45 percent on fines for illegal parking

  • and seven percent on resident parking permits.

For the coming years, many cities expect revenues to continue to rise. "Public space is an increasingly scarce commodity," the city of Stuttgart told Welt am Sonntag. There, parking fees in the city center are to be increased by a further 2024 percent at the beginning of 20. Instead of the previous 4.60 euros, motorists will then pay 5.60 euros. According to the city, the amount of the fees is based on the tariffs of local public transport.

  • You can read a detailed analysis of how municipalities come to their price for parking here: High parking fees are okay – but social discounts are not

The German Environmental Aid recently called for significantly higher parking fees to be charged in cities. "Anyone who takes up an average of twelve square meters of public space should also pay a reasonable fee for it – and not just in the city center," says Federal Managing Director Jürgen Resch, explaining the initiative.

Umwelthilfe consistently encourages comprehensive parking space management in all cities and municipalities, which would mean the end of free parking in public spaces.

oka/AFP