SUVs will pay more to park says city council

Should SUVs pay more to park? ‘Yes’ is the resounding answer from officials as the first UK council votes to introduce heftier parking charges for the heftiest cars on the road.

The vote, which took place on Thursday 16 October at Cardiff City Council, will soon see the Welsh capital become the first city in the UK to introduce a parking surcharge for vehicles over a specified weight limit.

In this instance, cars weighing over 2,400kg will be subject to the as-of-yet unspecified additional charge – a threshold that will be reduced to 2,000kg for non-electric cars over time. Vehicles weighing more than 3,500kg won’t be allowed a permit at all; Kim Kardashian will be thankful that the UK’s heaviest EV, the Mercedes G-Class with EQ Technology, comes in under this figure at roughly 3,200kg.

The reception to these plans has thus far been overwhelmingly positive; Cardiff Council’s recent consultation found that 66 per cent of respondents favoured the scheme, with less than one-in-four (24 per cent) opposing it.

The main driver behind pushing buyers into smaller cars is safety; recent studies show the higher bonnet line of SUVs can be more lethal when colliding with a cyclist or pedestrian. 

Oliver Lord is the UK head of campaign group Clean Cities, as well as a member of the anti-4x4 SUV Alliance. Following his recent conversation with Auto Express about the potential safety and environmental impact of SUVs, he described Cardiff’s plans as “a common-sense policy that will make our city streets safer, cleaner and fairer for everyone. Other cities across the UK could learn from Cardiff’s leadership.”

The proposals have also been backed by members of the public; Helen Edwards’ son was tragically hit by a car last year. She told councillors that: “Families like mine live every day with the consequences of our streets being dominated by ever-larger vehicles.”

Edwards was keen to highlight how the plans “[aren’t] about punishing drivers – it’s about protecting children, pedestrians and our communities. If this change helps even one family avoid what we went through, it will be worth it.”

The vote on SUV parking actually comes as part of a wider City Parking Plan by Cardiff City Council. This includes permits for students and visitors, priority parking for Blue Badge holders and carers, controlled parking zones, plus the segmentation of the city into three so-called ‘Strategic Parking Areas’: City & Civic Centre, Inner, and Outer.

Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Strategic Planning & Transport, Councillor Dan De’Ath, described the new scheme as: “a vital step towards a stronger, fairer, greener and more accessible future. [It’s] about making Cardiff a better place to live, work, and visit for years to come.”

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