Parking prices and maximum time for parking depend on the zone you are situated in. Yet, you'll still be able to quickly pick up groceries with ultra-short-term parking.
In tariff zones red, orange and yellow, this is 2 times 20 minutes a day. In tariff zone green, this is 2 times 30 minutes a day. You need to indicate your registration plate in the parking meter for the traffic wardens to know you only park for a limited time.
How to pay for your parking session?
The parking meters are digitally operative. Enter your registration plate and the parking time into the screen of the parking meter. After this, pay the amount and you're good to continue your journey. You will no longer need to place a parking ticket behind your windshield.
How to pay at a new parking meter:
- choose your language, read the tariff information and press 'start';
- enter you registration plate number;
- choose the time of parking;
- choose your payment method (cash or card - not all meters offer both);
- indicate if you want a proof of payment or not.
How to pay using your mobile device:
- use one of the applications by these providers.
- start your parking session.
- end your parking session.
Registration plate check
The City of Ghent makes use of modern parking meters, at which you enter your license plate. You will not have to place a ticket behind the windshield . If you wrongfully park your car or forget to pay for your parking spot, you will receive a fine. Traffic wardens will use a registration plate check to determine whether you paid for your parking spot or have the right to park at a certain spot.
If you wrongfully park on a parking spot reserved for residents, you will receive a fine of 80 euros for 3 hours of parking time. If you did not pay for your parking spot, you risk a fine of 40 euros. Such a retribution will give you 3 hours of parking time. Parking on parking spots reserved for residents, carsharing (autodelen) or stallholders (marktkramers) is not allowed.
The city of Ghent is subdivided into color zones. Each color has its own parking tariff.
The zone color is indicated on the parking meter.
Red tariff zone
- Between 9 AM en 7 PM, there's a parking limit of 3 hours;
- It's allowed to park for a longer time span past 7 PM;
- Parking in this tariff zone is paid til midnight;
- Parking is free on Sunday and bank holidays;
- Day tickets are not available.
Orange tariff zone
- Mainly targeted at residents parking;
- Between 9 AM en 7 PM, there's a parking limit of 5 hours;
- Parking is paid from 9 AM til 11 PM;
- Parking past 7 pm is cheaper;
- Free parking on Sundays and bank holidays.
Yellow tariff zone
- located near the train stations Dampoort and Gent-Sint-Pieters, and parking Ledeberg en Het Getouw.
- Between 9 AM en 7 PM, there's a parking limit of 5 hours;
- It's allowed to park for a longer time span past 7 PM;
- Free parking past 7 PM, on Sundays and bank holidays.
Green tariff zone
- Most advantageous rate;
- No parking limit;
- Free parking past 7 PM, on Sundays and bank holidays.
Ultra-short term parking
Ghent has various parking spaces reserved for kiss&ride, loading and unloading, max. 30 minutes, max. 15 minutes etc. These spaces will all be renamed to 'ultra-short-term parking' and will follow the same regulations from now on:
- From Monday to Friday, between 7 am and 7 pm, you can park on these spaces for a maximum of 30 minutes in the green tariff zone and for a maximum of 15 minutes in other tariff zones.
To park here, you need to enter your registration plate at the parking meter. You can use a free parking session or a paid parking session in case you have already used your free minutes for that day. People with disabilities and citizens also have to use these parking meters and have to respect the parking time. Parking discs and parking permits are not valid during ultra-short-term parking.
What about trailers?
Certain trailers also have to present a parking fee in certain situations:
- Trailer (+750 kilos) has a proper registration plate: in this case, you need 2 residents permits or 2 paid parking fees;
- Trailer (less than 750 kilos) hooked up to a car: in this case, you need one residents permit or one paid parking fee;
- Detached trailer (less than 750 kilos): you do not need a residents permit or a parking fee.
The traffic wardens will warn the police when a detached trailer is parked on a dangerous location, or is being parked somewhere else for a long time.
