Amsterdam finances hit by parking fees
12-10-2009
Amsterdam's policy of increasing car parking fees to discourage motorists from coming to the city has been so successful the city's finances are being hit, the Parool reported at the weekend.
The drop in the number of cars coming in to the centre means the city has millions of euros less to spend. In total, the city expected income from parking to reach €136m this year, but the final figure is set to be €124m, a shortfall of €12m, the paper said.
Parking charges in the city centre were increased to €4 an hour at the beginning of this year.
The borough council of Westerpark is worst affected. It will earn 22% less from parking that budgeted for, the paper said.
A survey in July showed Amsterdam has the most expensive daily parking rate in the world.
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