Parking Higher parking fees in the city of St. Gallen

The St. Gallen City Council has not followed the recommendations of the price watchdog and will increase various parking fees from November 2024. Since 2022, there has already been a continuous fee obligation in the city center. This will now be extended to the entire city area.

Before increasing the charges, the city of St. Gallen consulted the price watchdog. This recommended that parking fees in the Extended Blue Zone (EBZ) be reduced by 37 percent and those in the White Zone by 59 percent.

The city council did not follow these recommendations. Public space is scarce, according to a press release issued by the City Chancellery on Thursday. The price watchdog did not take into account the overriding interests of the city. This includes the steering effect, fiscal interests or the Mobility Concept 2024.

Private parking spaces are more expensive

Contrary to the view of the price supervisor, the fees could also be compared with the costs of private parking spaces according to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court. These would be higher than those for a public parking space.

Specifically, the continuous charging obligation for surface parking spaces in the city center, which has been in force since 2022, will be extended on 1 November. In future, the rest of the city area will also be "continuously managed". This means that parking fees must also be paid there at night.

From November 1, 2024, a night tariff and a Sunday tariff of CHF 1 per hour will apply in the white zone in the rest of the city. In the city center, the daytime rate will be increased from CHF 2 to CHF 2.50 per hour, while the night-time rate will remain at CHF 1.50 per hour.

There is also a new regulation for the EBZ day pass. It is now valid for 24 hours and no longer just on the same day. The monthly permit for commuters for parking spaces in the EBZ will be increased from 133 to 150 francs.