Millions of kroner will be refunded to petrol and diesel car owners in Odense after illegal tolls were imposed.
In a new move, the municipality of Odense has decided to refund approximately 2.8 million Danish kroner to owners of petrol and diesel vehicles after illegally overcharging for residential parking permits. According to DR, this decision was made following a review of the system that has been in place since the beginning of 2024.
According to DR, the municipality of Odense was seeking to encourage citizens to switch to electric cars as part of its green transformation plans, and had begun issuing parking permits in the city center at a low cost to electric car owners (600 kroner), while owners of petrol and diesel cars paid 1200 kroner, which later turned out to be against the law.
The municipality of Odense has announced it will refund 2.8 million kroner of the 5.8 million kroner collected illegally since the new system was implemented, according to DR.
This decision was made after it was found that the new system violated legal rules prohibiting discrimination between types of vehicles regarding parking fees, particularly in areas offering free parking for up to three hours. According to DR, fees exceeding administrative costs cannot be charged in such areas.
Søren Windell, a municipal councilor from the Conservative Party (Det Konservative Folkeparti) and responsible for city and culture affairs in the municipality of Odense, commented: “Citizens have paid more than they should, and I do not accept discrimination between fossil fuel-powered cars and electric cars. I am happy to restore equality,” according to DR.
Morten Hjorth, an Odense resident and hybrid car owner, expressed his surprise at the high parking fees, saying, “I think parking prices are already high. It doesn’t make sense to pay extra, and it’s only fair that we get our money back,” according to DR. He noted that he paid 1,200 kroner instead of 600, expressing his support for the green transition but believing the city is not yet ready for electric vehicle infrastructure. He added, “If I buy an electric car tomorrow, I won’t know where to charge it. Parking in front of my house is already difficult, and if I can’t find a charging station, there will be a problem,” according to DR.
Tim Vermund, the climate councilor for the municipality of Odense, from the Social Democratic Party, supported the decision to return the money, saying: “It is regrettable that the administration staff did not give us better advice. Political decisions should not be made that are against the law, so it is only fair to return the money to the citizens,” according to the DR website.
According to the source, the legal loophole is due to the existence of limited-time free parking in the same areas as the residential permits, which prevents charging fees that exceed the costs of managing the permits, and therefore everyone should have paid only 600 kroner, regardless of the type of car.
On the other hand, climate activist Morten Lisberg of the Green Youth Movement (Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse) expressed his disappointment with the Odense municipality's retreat from the environmental discrimination system, saying: "They talk about climate action, but when opposition appears, they back down and go back to the way things were before," according to the source.
Climate advisor Tim Vermund responded to the criticism by saying: “The system has not achieved its goals, and implementing a differentiated fee system would require eliminating free parking and creating paid parking spaces and payment machines, which is costly and something we do not want at the moment.”.
According to the DR website, data from the municipality of Odense revealed that the toll system did not have a significant impact on the shift to electric cars, as owners of these cars accounted for only 3.5% of the total payments, even though they represent about 13% of cars in the city, meaning that 96.5% of the revenue came from owners of petrol and diesel cars.
In a comment from Torben Lund Kudsk, head of political affairs at the Danish Automobile Owners Association (FDM), he said: “Parking facilities may have an impact, but the most important thing is the availability of charging stations in the city. We need a proactive policy for installing charging stations, and that is the real engine of change,” according to DR.
In comparison to other cities, the municipalities of Aarhus and Copenhagen have preceded Odense in implementing more environmentally advanced regulations. In Aarhus, electric car owners pay 500 kroner annually, while owners of petrol or diesel cars pay 2,600 kroner, and up to 3,900 kroner for the second type. In Copenhagen, the fees reach 6,000 kroner for the most fuel-efficient vehicles, according to DR.
Copenhagen and Aarhus have both abolished free parking policies for electric cars, a move that environmental activist Morten Lisberg sees as a bold step that Odense did not dare to take, saying: “They chose the easy and practical solution, but they completely ignored the environmental dimension. They did not adopt the option that takes climate interests into account,” according to DR.
