Free Parking: Hybrid Perks Add Up

For those who are worried about the so-called "hybrid premium," hybrid owners are finding that they can offset the cost of their more expensive vehicles by collecting on tax breaks (depending upon the make of the vehicle), decreased expenditures on gasoline, and access to high occupancy vehicle lanes, sans extra passengers. Now they can add free, reduced and reserved parking to the list of hybrid perks.

Businesses and municipalities are beginning to offer parking privileges to hybrid vehicle owners. Spaces closer to buildings and free metered parking are just two of the variations being offered. Kimpton Hotels offer parking perks as part of its EarchCare program. Some Westin and Starwood Hotels also offer complimentary parking for hybrid vehicles. California's Lassen Volcanic National Park also offers special reserved spaces for hybrid drivers.

The Fresno, CA city council recently repealed its free-parking perk for hybrid drivers. After four years of offering the benefit, the City was inundated with complaints from drivers of non-hybrid fuel efficient cars who were irritated by the City's offer of free parking to hybrid drivers only, when in some cases, non-hybrid vehicles offered better overall fuel economy.

Some cities and businesses are extending the parking upgrade to drivers who carpool or who drive fuel-efficient vehicles. Parking meters in Ferndale, MI are of no concern to drivers of any vehicle that averages 30 mpg or better, since the city doesn’t charge those drivers for street parking.

Hybrid sales have taken their lumps since the price of gasoline dropped last Fall. Drivers who are wary of spending the extra few thousand dollars on hybrid models should recalculate the lifetime cost of the vehicle taking into account the tax breaks along with a potentially significant savings on parking costs.

Photo Credit: Shaun Ellithorpe