State may park
free parking
In its latest drive to curb the use of cars, Norway's government is considering forcing shopping centers to charge customers for parking in the centers' lots or garages.
 Ikea is among the relatively few retailers to offer large parking lots at no charge. It's not always easy to carry bulky items from Ikea home on the bus, so customers in the future may need to pay extra if they drive. PHOTO: BJØRKE MAGNUS KNUTSEN |
The goal, according to a report prepared by the state environmental ministry, is to discourage customers from using their cars for shopping trips.
The ministry, which won't comment on the report prepared by a lawyer consultant, would rather encourage customers to take public transport when going about their daily errands.
That may be impractical when customers need to haul large quantities of goods or, for example, furniture home. Then they'll simply have to pay even more to use private automobiles.
Norway already taxes new cars to the tune of more than 100 percent, charges high annual vehicle registration fees and imposes fuel taxes that are among the highest in Europe, and four times those of the US. Many communities already restrict the amount of parking that companies can offer to employees, thus forcing them to take the tram or bus to work instead of driving.
But those running Norway's social welfare state don't like the fact that there still are more cars on the road in Norway than ever before. They want to make driving even more expensive and unattractive.
The ministry's report proposes regulations that would require local townships to in turn require shopping centers to charge for parking in lots where charges aren't already imposed.
The money wouldn't go to the township, reports Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK), but rather to the shopping centers themselves.
No such thing as 'free parking'
A researcher at Norway's institute for transport economics supports the proposal, claiming there's really no such thing as "free parking" anyway.
"Parking lots and garages are anything but free," says Jan Usterud Hanssen of the Transportøkonomisk Institutt. "The only question is who is paying for them."
He claims all customers indirectly pay for "free parking" through higher prices on goods sold inside the stores. And that means those who walk, bicycle or take public transport to the shopping centers are also paying for the parking lots. "I think that's unfortunate," says Hanssen.
Nina Berglund
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