The government is cracking down on car owners who leave their cars parked in public lots for extended periods without moving them by hiking rates up by €60 a month.

Car owners who have been misusing their parking subscriptions in public cars parks will now face a rise in their monthly fee, say the government.

The public parking services of Monaco reassess each year the pricing of all its hourly services and subscriptions, including those of residential ‘day and night’, daytime work, professional and two-wheeler holders.

This year, the services have decided on a rate hike of €60 each month for subscribers who they observe have not moved their vehicles for a month or more. This additional pricing specifically targets people who have taken out a residential ‘day and night’ subscription at a cost of €106, which affords the right to park in any unassigned place, but who leave their cars permanently parked, ostensibly creating for themselves a “reserved space”.

According to the government, almost 400 of these such vehicles were clocked in January 2021 and the number is on the rise. The cars, which belong to people who own two or more vehicles, are being called “suction cup cars” and the government is cracking down on the owners.

“The daily mission of public parking teams is to serve as many people as possible, the example of these suction cup cars goes against this trend,” said Eric Sciamanna, Head of the public parking service, adding that the rotation of cars is essential for the service provider in order to be able to provide the best quality experiences to all users.

The Principality has 17,000 public car spaces available, while the Public Parking Department has more than 6,000 residential subscription requests on their waiting list. 

This additional pricing only concerns the ‘free place’ prices and does not affect those who have purchased a fixed place. Residents who use their car a maximum of 15 times a month are not affected also, and even benefit from a discount of €10.

 
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