Frédéric spends an average of 15 euros per month to park his car in the Erasmus Hospital car park in Brussels. As a patient, he is surprised to have to pay such an amount. He contacted us via the orange Alert Us button. In which regions are car parks the most expensive?
Frédéric goes to the hospital two to three times a month for his chemotherapy sessions. Recently, he left the Hornu hospital center in the province of Hainaut to benefit from more specific treatment at the Erasme hospital in Brussels. He is challenged by the amount he is forced to pay to park his vehicle in the hospital parking lot. “In Brussels, I spend up to 10 euros for just a few hours. It’s priceless,” he explains.
It is already not a pleasure to follow a treatment. It is even less so when you have to pay exorbitant sums.
When he is hospitalized, the man from Mons is forced to find alternatives: “In 2022, I stayed two weeks in the hospital. It was impossible for me to leave my car in the parking lot. I asked my stepfather to drive me. Sometimes I carpool to keep costs down, but it’s not always easy.” At the reception desk of the hospital, the staff explains to him that the management of these car parks depends on private companies. This is why the establishment cannot intervene to reduce this significant cost. “It’s already not a pleasure to follow a treatment, it’s even less so when you have to pay exorbitant sums”, he tells us.
What does the hospital say?
For its part, the hospital management confirms that the prices are set by independent parking companies: “They regulate the price, among other things, in relation to parameters such as the tariff plan of the zone in which the car park is located and indexation”. The hospital specifies that other locations are more financially accessible, such as the Lennik car park. However, he recognizes that it is further from the entrance, less secure and inaccessible at night and on weekends.
Negotiations between the hospital and parking companies are ongoing
The establishment claims to make every effort to relieve the portfolio of its patients. “Negotiations between the hospital and parking companies are underway at Erasme to obtain a 20% reduction on parking tickets for consultations”, explains the management. She adds that discussions are underway to obtain preferential rates for day hospitalizations, for weekly patients as well as for people with reduced mobility.
Marked price differences between the different hospitals in the country
In a file published a few weeks ago, our colleagues from SudInfo have established a ranking of parking prices in several provinces. They compared the amount you have to pay to park your car there for 2 hours, which is the average time for a visit.
- CHC Waremme Clinic: €0
- Bastogne Hospital: €0.
- CHC MontLegia Liège: €1
- Nivelles hospital: €1.50
- Braine-l’Alleud hospital: €2
- Libramont Hospital: €2
- CHR Namur : 2.9 €
- Citadel Hospital in Liège: €3
- Delta Auderghem Hospital: €4
- St-Pierre Clinic in Ottignies: €4
Several hospitals provide free parking for certain patients. At the Delta hospital in Auderghem, for example, patients in the dialysis, radiotherapy and neonatology departments and emergency room visitors will not pay any money. Other establishments offer hospitalization formulas. Some more expensive than others: €17.60 for a day at the Saint-Luc university clinics in Woluwe. In the event of hospitalization Frédéric would have to spend 14.50 € for a day and 55 € for a week of parking at the Erasme hospital in Brussels.
