Hospital parking very expensive, especially in Amsterdam: report

People who regularly visit a hospital in the Netherlands spend enormous amounts on parking alone. Some lose more than a thousand euros a year in driving to and parking at the hospital. On average, one day of parking at a hospital in the Netherlands costs 8.93 euros. Amsterdam is most expensive - at the OLVG in Amsterdam Oost, parking costs 48 euros per day, AD reports based on its own research.

A total of 93 hospital locations and 9 outpatient clinics in the Netherlands charge visitors to park their cars. The OLVG is most expensive both when it comes to day rates and hourly rates for parking - one hour of parking at the outpatient clinic in Spuistraat costs 7.50 euros, compared to the average of 1.88 euros for the first hour. The OLVG West and VUMC charge 30 euros per day. Erasmus MC in Rotterdam charges 25 euros.

Only 17 hospital locations in the country don't charge for parking. These include the Alrijne Hospital in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Van Weel-Bethesda Hospital in Dirksland, and the St. Anna Hospital in Eindhoven. The majority of outpatient clinics offer free parking. Some hospitals offer patients and visitors a weekly or monthly subscription for longer hospital stays, which is considerably cheaper. Most hospitals have free parking for the first 10 to 30 minutes. "But in that time you can't even pick up a prescription at the pharmacy", one patient said to the newspaper.

Hospitals in the large cities argue that they cannot lower their parking prices due to the expensive property and maintenance costs. According to AD, some also said that cheaper parking would result in tourists parking at the hospital and exploring the city from there.