Parking is becoming impossible without a smartphone – Lahti is doing away with parking meters altogether

In Finland, traditional coin-operated parking machines have declined significantly.

As parking increasingly moves to mobile apps, it will make parking more expensive for drivers. On top of the parking fee set by cities, there is an operator’s brokerage fee, which varies from a few tens of cents upwards per parking session.

Parking for a longer working day can add an extra €1.5, even €2.

Kotka, Turku, Mikkeli, Helsinki and other cities have already completely abandoned the coins.

In Lahti, for example, street parking will cost more in the future for applications. The city of Lahti removed the parking machines operating on the coin from the street, as the city no longer wanted to pay the annual maintenance of EUR 200,000 from ATMs.

For applications, only 15,000-20,000 euros per year are incurred for the city.

There are still a couple of dozen parking lots left in Lahti, but it has also been decided to abandon them by the beginning of July 2027 at the latest.

Then the motorist must have a smartphone and a mobile application if he or she is going to park his car in the center of Lahti.

Mobile payments have become more common, and in 2024 more than 84 % of the parking fees in Finland were handled by digital payment methods.

Equality in e-services is a problem

The Office of the Ombudsman for Equality has noted that the payment of services is digitized and electronic service channels are becoming more and more widespread.

\”In particular, public actors must pay special attention to the fact that when the reforms are reformed, services are equally available to different groups of people,\” says Aaltonen.

In his opinion, an electronic service channel alone can be problematic as it rarely works for all customer groups.

Parking on the street unexpectedly increased

The City of Lahti has an agreement on mobile payment with four companies, most of which are made at Easy Park. Others include E-Parking, Parkman and Moovy.

In the heart of Lahti, short -term half -hour parking costs the euro. However, there will still be a parking -specific brokerage fee if the payment method is the mobile application.

Parking can be paid in Finland with at least eight different payment applications. Easypark is the most used of these. The application administrator will grab a slice of each parking event either as a service fee and/or with a 15 % stake.

The consumer cannot choose the payment method as they may, as parking owners or administrators decide which payment methods are in use.

In Lahti, mobile payments have already become more common this year to about 95 %. Until 5-6 years ago, coins were as popular payment instruments in parking as applications.

The removal of coin machines and the rise in prices were estimated to reduce street parking, but it has been different. During the first half of the year, there have been nearly a third more parking than last year.

By the end of April, the city received more than EUR 850,000 for parking.

– I was amazed that this was the case. Maybe those customers who want to park in the center along the street will find the place easier. Of course, mobile apps are easy to use, says Eeva Jauro, Managing Director of Lahden Parking Oy.

The mobile app can increase parking time, even if you happen to be far from the car.