End of free parking for motorbikes and scooters in Paris

Motorbikes, scooters and other two-wheeled motorised vehicles will no longer benefit from free parking in Paris from September 1, with the cost of parking depending on riders’ ‘status’.

• Residents can buy a season ticket for €22.50 per year and can then park for 75 cents per day.
• Visitors must pay €2 to €3 per hour, depending on the district, capped at €37.50 per day.

The measure has been met with a mixed reaction.

One motorbike rider told FranceInfo: “It’s taking away some people’s freedoms,” but a cyclist said: “If only [push] bikes remain, that would be perfect.” One shopkeeper said they feared the high visitor cost could affect business.

Jean-Marc Bellotti, coordinator at motorbike riders’ association, la Fédération des Motards en colère, said: “Logically, in a car parking space, you can fit three to four motorised two-wheel vehicles. So we should have to pay three to four times’ less.”

The measure is part of the city’s attempts to reduce pollution and encourage eco-friendly transport.

The Paris Mairie has rolled out several measures to cut vehicle use in the city in the past few years, including plans to halve the number of car parking spaces in the next few years and replace them with ideas such as wider pavements, terraces, cycle lanes, bike lock-up spaces, recycling points or play areas.

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