More and more paid parking spaces at hospitals and clinics. For the majority of users, it is one pill too many. However, in an interview with BFM-TV in spring 2023, then Health Minister François Braun stated: “I will not solve the problem of hospital parking costs. »
Hospital parking spaces are a growing market for private, public and semi-public operators, which is contested by patients and their families. “If there is a dynamic sector in which we are building today, it is hospitals and clinics.”confirms Jean-Laurent Dirx, President of the National Federation of Parking Trades.
The outsourcing of parking space management at these locations began in the early 2010s. An initiative that operations managers say was driven by the need to focus their resources on maintaining and purchasing equipment. A reaction also to the use of their parking spaces by drivers who used the spaces reserved for employees, patients and visitors without any right to do so and without paying.
Private groups such as Indigo, Q-Park or Effia offer you a turnkey solution for a concession: “Many lack land and are now asking us to build high-capacity structures, often with more than 1,000 spaces.”, confirms Michèle Salvadoretti, General Director of Q-Park France. This operator alone manages 15,000 places, spread across a dozen public hospital sites and some private clinics, including the Brest University Hospital (more than 3,000 places) and the Nancy University Hospital, which are nearing completion.
Much to the dismay of visitors
The market leader Indigo also manages around 15,000 areas spread across 28 locations. “We optimize their traffic flows by offering location guidance, electric vehicle charging stations, an emergency drop-off zone and special arrangements for ambulance carriers and healthcare workers.”, develops Sébastien Fraisse, CEO of Indigo. Almost 60,000 parking spaces managed by private and public operators have switched to paid parking.
A development that comes to the great dismay of visitors, who particularly criticize hospitals for making profits at their expense. “When we charge parking in public hospitals, we affect access to health services. This at least deserves regulation by the state or “Secu”., Judge Frédéric Bizard, economist specializing in health and social protection issues. That’s why “Secu” offers patients an agreement upon request. There are also few companies that make their parking spaces profitable. “Income is usually not enough to cover investments and operating costs. Many hospitals partially subsidize licensed activity.”Point MMe Salvadoretti. The debate about regulating parking fees is far from over.
