Paid parking in hospitals: why and at what cost?

Good parking management in hospitals is a key issue for patients, visitors and staff alike. Well-organized and accessible parking lots facilitate medical visits and improve the overall experience of users, who are often very attentive to the price of parking in university hospitals.

Why do university hospitals charge for parking?

The main reason why university hospitals charge for parking is to generate additional revenue to finance maintenance and improvements to hospital infrastructure. This helps cover the high costs associated with parking lot maintenance and user safety. In addition, the revenues generated can be reinvested in projects to improve medical services and patient care. This measure also aims to regulate the use of parking lots, by discouraging abusive use and ensuring that spaces are available for those who really need them.

In Bordeaux, on the site of the Pellegrin University Hospital, the decision to charge for parking was taken with a view to financing the construction of new spaces, following the expansion of the establishment with new services. Also in 2012, a fire broke out, and firefighters were slow to arrive due to anarchic parking. The desire for a safer, more accessible site was therefore one of the management’s objectives.

The CHU de Brest uses a different policy, offering a reduced rate of €1.70 per day for patients who can present themselves at reception to benefit from it. On the Cavale Blanche site, staff can park free of charge. This is not the case on the Morvan site, where parking is subject to a charge to avoid the phenomenon of “car suction” due to its location close to the town center.

Key players in hospital parking

Manager types

Hospital parking lots are managed by two types of players:

Public hospitals

The CHU manages the parking lots internally. It is responsible for the day-to-day management, maintenance and supervision of the parking lots. Some university hospitals prefer to manage their parking lots directly, in order to have total control over operations and the revenues generated.

Private companies
Private companies are specialist parking lot management firms hired by hospitals to provide day-to-day management and maintenance. They must ensure regular maintenance of facilities, guarantee the safety of vehicles and users, and manage pricing and payment systems. In addition, they are responsible for signage and communication with users to ensure smooth and efficient use of parking spaces.

• Indigo
• Zenpark
• Q-Park
• Effia
• Facility Park
• Société Mixte NGE Nantes

Prices for paying parking lots in university hospitals

Comparative price table for several French university hospitals in 2024

The table below compares the prices of parking lots and their managers for different hospitals.

How much do university hospitals make out of their paid parking lots?

The parking lot: an investment of several tens of millions of euros

An example of investment: Brest University Hospital. Brest University Hospital shared the 20 million euro investment with QPark, a Dutch multinational. In exchange, QPark took over management of the parking lot and parking revenues for 30 years. The hospital will receive an as yet unknown annual fee. The new parking lot doubles the number of spaces on the site.

How much parking revenue can hospital parking lots generate?

At the Lille CHRU, secure parking brings in around 1.7 million euros a year out of a total budget of over 1.6 billion euros for the establishment. The revenue collected is used primarily ” for investment, upkeep and maintenance “, explains Frédéric Boiron, Director of the Lille CHRU. It also serves to offset the costs incurred, for example, by the redesign of the parking lots, estimated at almost 2 million euros.

Paid parking: a highly sensitive issue and a controversial measure for some users

Patients and Visitors: an extra budget to plan for

Although university hospitals have chosen to make their parking lots chargeable in order to prevent illegal parking, better regulate traffic flows and contribute to the improvement of the site thanks to the revenue generated, everyday users sometimes have difficulty accepting this novelty. In Nancy, since the introduction of paid parking, visitors have said: “We don’t come to the hospital for pleasure”. A retired woman also commented on the situation: “We have no choice, we have to park. When someone can’t walk, we’re obliged to go inside, and I think that’s very exaggerated”.

Hospital staff: up to €80 per week for parking at the CHU

Hospital staff are also affected by parking charges. Healthcare professionals work long hours, and may find parking costs prohibitive. This adds extra stress to their daily lives.

Nursing students at the hospital voice their concerns. At Brest University Hospital, for 700 students, only 300 free parking spaces are available. “We’re there for nine hours a day, which works out at around 80 euros a week, or over 300 euros a month. Some people can no longer attend classes because of the high costs. “explains one nurse.

In Nancy, the teams are speaking out about the slowdowns caused by the reorganization of the CHRU parking lots and the arrival of QPark. Since the parking lots have become chargeable, the site has been reorganized and there is only one direction of traffic. “Previously, staff only had to walk 400 m to the exit. Today, they have to go all the way around behind the buildings. What’s more, the lack of a payment terminal means that the fee is paid directly at the barrier at a single point of passage. In the time it takes to stop, look for the ticket and pay, traffic jams are created. Last but not least, the presence of a traffic light at the exit of the site, which only lasts 20 seconds, causes further slowdowns, provoking discontent.”

Strategies for improving parking lots and parking at university hospitals

Improving CHU’s pricing policy

Improved pricing policies can ease the financial burden on users. For example, some university hospitals offer reduced rates according to the length of parking, special rates for patients undergoing long-term treatment, or free parking for visitors of intensive care patients.

At Toulouse University Hospital, patients coming on site benefit from a reduced rate of €1.80 per stay on site, which is still much more advantageous.

In Poitiers, free access has been introduced at the CHU for certain user groups. Some people have free access at all times. These include inpatients and outpatients, the disabled, parents of hospitalized children, relatives of patients in the intensive care unit, accompanying mothers in maternity wards, ambulance drivers, VSLs and cabs).

Innovative smart parking solutions for hospitals

To improve efficiency and reduce parking costs, hospitals can adopt innovative solutions such as parking reservation applications, real-time guidance systems and electric vehicle charging stations. These technologies enable better management of vehicle flows and offer an optimized user experience.

Deploying a digital signage system optimizes the use of parking spaces. In this way, users are directed directly to the available spaces. Information is displayed via a mobile application, dynamic panels for the general public, and a control panel for decision-makers. In this way, the time spent looking for a parking space is reduced, traffic in the parking lot is reduced and C02 emissions are also reduced. Cocoparks deploys a complete, simple and effective solution to combat these effects.

In brief

In short, the price of parking in university hospitals has a significant impact on the experience of patients, visitors and staff. By adopting innovative improvement strategies and fair pricing policies, hospitals can improve accessibility and user satisfaction, while optimizing the efficiency of parking management. These efforts help to reduce the financial burden for all users, promoting a better overall hospital experience.