Car park costs on the rise; A'dam highest priced

Parking now costs on average €2.73, this has risen by 26 percent in the last four years according to Detailhandel Nederland, who studied 80 parking garages. Detailhandel Nederland is claiming some of the blame can go to 'secret' costs at parking garages; the prices remain the same while your actual parking time is less. Parking garage Markenhoven in Amsterdam now asks 5o cents per seven minutes, while the price could get you eight minutes before. The organization is also saying that people pay 11 percent more than the parking tariff. This is because many garages don't offer 'per minute' tariffs. People are then obliged to pay by the hour, even if they don't need to be somewhere that long, and even if they park for 53 minutes. Detailhandel Nederland isn't happy about the price hikes and calls parking a "cash cow" for the municipalities. "The desire for an attractive and inhabitable shopping area should be a stimulus for the municipalities to limit the tariffs and make the time units smaller." The Dam/Bijenkorf parking garage and De Kolk garage in Amsterdam are the most expensive, at €5,71. In Hoofddorp and in the Vier Meren garages, drivers are only paying 80 cents to park for an hour. Parking on the street has become more expensive by 17 percent on average in the last four yeas.