Parking in Rotterdam: rates, P+R, car parks and low emission zones

What you need to do

If you are driving to Rotterdam, decide in advance where you will park. On the street in the centre you pay the highest rate. A space in a public city car park, ideally booked online, is cheaper, as is a P+R site on the edge of the city, where you park free if you continue by public transport. If you drive a business van or a lorry, also check whether your vehicle may enter the zero emission zone.

The city of Rotterdam wants as few cars as possible in the city, making it what the Dutch call autoluw. It therefore actively points visitors towards P+R sites, shared bikes, shared scooters, shared cars and taxis or water taxis.

On-street parking: rates and hours

In many Rotterdam districts you have to pay for a parking space. According to the city of Rotterdam, these hourly rates apply to on-street parking:

• Centre: €6.42 per hour (high rate)
• Districts around the centre: €3.20 per hour (middle rate)
• Outer districts: €2.24 per hour (low rate)

Paid parking in Rotterdam applies until 23:00. In the central area you pay until 1:00 on Fridays and Saturdays. The city’s parking map shows which rate and hours apply to your street.

Take care around De Kuip: during football matches and other events the high rate of €6.42 per hour applies in zone 900.

Rates may rise

The city’s information is partly contradictory here. The page on paid parking gives €6.42 per hour in the centre. An announcement on paid parking outside the ring states that the high rate will rise from €6.42 to €7.20 per hour and that paid parking hours will be extended. The municipal executive has adopted these measures and sent them to the city council as a proposal. No start date for the new rate is given. So check the parking map or your parking app shortly before you travel to see which rate applies.

The same announcement says paid parking will be introduced step by step in all districts outside the ring. Under the proposed timetable, Nesselande will be the first district from 1 December, followed by the others. Rozenburg, Hoek van Holland, Pernis and Heijplaat are excluded. If you have parked free there until now, do not take it for granted.

Paying on the street

On the street you pay through the app of one of the parking providers on your mobile phone. The advantage is that you do not need to find a parking meter. Start your parking session as soon as you have parked and stop it as soon as you drive off.

P+R sites: free parking on the edge of the city

Around the city there are P+R sites where you can park free if you continue by public transport or shared transport. How long parking stays free varies by site. The city’s P+R sites page shows all sites on a map, with the conditions for each.

How free parking with public transport works

• Travel to and from the P+R site with an OV-chipkaart or a RET chip ticket.
• On your return, present your parking ticket or number plate and your OV-chipkaart at the payment machine. You have 1 hour at most to do this.
• After scanning, you have 15 minutes to leave the P+R site.

You can buy a RET day ticket from the ticket and top-up machines in metro stations.

With shared transport via the Gaiyo app

At P+R Slinge, for example, you can also park free if you continue with a shared cargo bike, shared bike or shared scooter via the Gaiyo app. The ride must last at least 10 minutes. After the ride, tap Claim in the app, which then checks whether you meet the conditions. After the discount is applied you have 1 hour to leave the site. If you use a different shared transport app, you pay the normal rate.

Normal rate at a P+R

Without an OV-chipkaart, RET ticket or shared transport ride, you pay the normal rate: €0.50 per 13 minutes, with a maximum daily charge of €23.

Example: P+R Slinge

P+R Slinge is next to Slinge metro station, at Slinge 763, 3086 EZ Rotterdam. Drive there via the A29 and the A15, exit Zuidplein and Ahoy, then follow the signs. By metro or shared transport you reach the centre in about 12 minutes.

P+R combi ticket

With a P+R combi ticket you book a parking space and receive a public transport ticket at the same time. This lets you travel cheaply by metro, tram or bus between the P+R site and the city.

Public city car parks

If you still want to park in the centre, choose one of the city’s public city car parks. Anyone may park there. According to the city, these car parks are cheaper than on-street parking and usually cheaper than commercial car parks too. You can recognise them by the green logo with the white P. They are often within walking distance of each other in the centre, and there are also city car parks in districts outside the centre. Charges vary by car park and are listed on each car park’s page. Most city car parks have charging points for electric cars.

Neighbourhood car parks are different: they are intended for regular users such as businesses and residents. Visitors cannot use them.

Example: Schouwburgplein 1 car park

Schouwburgplein 1 car park is at Schouwburgplein 22, 3012 CL Rotterdam, close to the Rotterdamse Schouwburg theatre, the De Doelen concert hall and the Pathé cinema. The car park is always open and the doors on the De Doelen side are open day and night.

• 704 parking spaces, 4 of them for disabled drivers
• charging points for electric cars
• maximum height: 2.10 metres
• number plate recognition and CCTV
• booking possible

The car park has an underground link to Schouwburgplein 2 car park. If you arrive through the Weena tunnel, you choose car park 1 or 2 inside the tunnel. Car park 1 can also be reached via Karel Doormanstraat.

Until April 2027 the city is carrying out works at Hofplein, close to both car parks. Allow for road closures and diversions.

Booking a space in a city car park

On the booking website you can book a space online in a public city car park. According to the city, this saves up to 50% and guarantees you a space. Anyone can book, including visitors from outside Rotterdam and tourists.

• You can book up to 3 months ahead.
• You need your number plate and email address.
• You pay with iDeal or credit card.
• You can enter the car park 30 minutes before your booking starts.
• On entry your number plate is recognised and the barriers open automatically. If they do not rise, scan the QR code from your confirmation email at the entrance.
• You do not have a fixed space: park in any free space.
• Leave within your booked time. If you are later, pay for the extra time at the payment machine with your parking card, number plate, the booking QR code or your bank card.

If you receive a parking ticket on entry, keep it safe: you insert it in the card reader when you leave. If a car park gets very busy, the city switches off online booking for it. In that case choose another car park nearby.

If you park in a city car park regularly, a season ticket is often better value.

Enforcement and fines

The city of Rotterdam uses scan cars to check whether you have a valid parking permit and have paid enough. If you have not paid, or paid too little, you receive a parking penalty, officially an additional parking tax assessment. If you commit a traffic offence, such as parking on the pavement, you receive a fine from the city’s enforcement officers or the police.

Environmental zone and zero emission zone

Rotterdam has 2 types of zone, and they are often confused. According to the city of Rotterdam:

• The Maasvlakte Rotterdam environmental zone applies only to lorries.
• The zero emission zone (ZE zone) lies inside the ring and applies to business vans and lorries in RDW vehicle categories N1, N2 and N3.

ZE zone access rules

• Since 1 January 2025, vans with emission class 4 or lower and lorries with emission class 5 or lower may no longer enter the zone.
• Since 1 January 2025, lorries with emission class 6 and a first registration date before 1 January 2017 may no longer enter the zone.
• New vans and lorries with a first registration date from 1 January 2025 and a combustion engine, such as diesel, petrol or gas, have no access.
• From 1 January 2027, vans with emission class 5 may no longer enter the zone.
• From 1 January 2030, no vans or lorries with a combustion engine will be allowed.

The city’s number plate check tells you whether your vehicle may enter the zone. It does not take exemptions into account. The zone boundaries are on the ZE zone map, where you can search by address or postcode.

ZE zone fines

If you enter the zone without meeting the requirements, the fine is €130 for a van and €320 for a lorry. Administration costs of €9 are added.

Exceptions

ZE zone exemptions

If you enter the ZE zone fewer than 12 times a year, you can apply for a day exemption. Other exemptions are sometimes possible, for example if an electric van is still too expensive, if there is grid congestion at your business address, for vans not available for sale in a zero emission version, in the case of a long delivery time or if you use your van only privately. Exemptions are applied for through the RDW. Some exemptions apply automatically, for example for classic vehicles or wheelchair accessible vans.

An exemption for the Maasvlakte environmental zone or for the lorry ban on the ‘s-Gravendijkwal is not valid in the ZE zone. Market traders with a market licence issued before 1 March 2026 can receive a temporary exception until 1 January 2028.

Visiting residents

If you are visiting family or friends in Rotterdam, your host can register you on a visitor parking permit. Residents with a parking permit get 500 hours a year of cheaper visitor parking at €0.13 per 10 minutes, instead of the normal rate. A resident’s permit itself costs €9.50 per month for the first car and €25.70 per month for the second.

Checklist before you leave

• Decide whether you will park at a P+R, in a city car park or on the street.
• Going to a P+R: take an OV-chipkaart or RET chip ticket, not OVpay.
• Going to a city car park: book online, up to 3 months ahead, and keep the QR code from the confirmation email.
• Driving a tall vehicle: check the car park’s maximum height, which at Schouwburgplein 1 is 2.10 metres.
• Parking on the street: install a parking app in advance and check the current rate on the parking map.
• Planning a visit during a match at De Kuip: expect the high rate in zone 900.
• Driving a business van or lorry: do the number plate check for the ZE zone and arrange an exemption if needed.