Parking

On-street parking is free but often timely limited. In time limited zones the starting time of parking must be shown with a parking disc or other clear way. Allowed parking times vary from 5 minutes to 24 hours. If there are painted parking spots on the road, parking is allowed only in painted spots.

Private yard-areas can also be under road traffic law. Parking on a private area without the property owner’s or guardian’s permission is forbidden in principle. Restrictions are shown with traffic signs or other clearly visible ways.

A parking disc symbol in a traffic sign’s additional shield obligates to inform when parking started. Starting time is informed with either a parking disc or some other clear way from the next even hour or half an hour depending on which timing is closer. Additional shields also indicate maximum time of allowed parking. In such places parking time must always be informed.

Parking time can be informed freely, a parking disc is not mandatory anymore.

Regional parking prohibitions are used in areas with a uniform parking prohibition or -limit. The sign is placed along entry streets and its affect does not stop until parking prohibition is ended with a separate sign that removes the prohibition. A sign which allows parking is placed inside a regional parking prohibition zone if parking is allowed in some parts of the area.

Zonings and building permits require housing cooperates and other properties to build a certain amount of own parking spots. In Espoo resident- and guest parking and business trip spots are primarily pointed from houses’ yards and areas meant for parking.

In many areas, properties do not have enough parking spots. Then organising parking space on streets is also attempted if possible regarding traffic flow and street maintenance.

There are several private multi-storey car parks for offer, with fees or for free.

Helsinki metropolitan areas parking zones can be found from the service map.

In Espoo, parking is subject to a fee in certain city-owned on-street parking spaces and parking lots in Matinkylä, Leppävaara and Tapiola. You can find the specific locations on the Espoo map service(external link).

At the end of this page, you can find maps with the locations of the paid parking areas in Matinkylä, Leppävaara and Tapiola.

Parking fees are charged from Monday to Friday between 8:00 and 20:00 and on Saturdays between 8:00 and 18:00. There are traffic signs in the areas to indicate the hours when parking fees apply.

The paid parking areas have been divided into two zones:

• In zone 1, the parking fee is EUR 2.00 per hour.
• In zone 2, the parking fee is EUR 1.00 per hour.

Exceptions to pricing:

• Parking in the temporary V area costs EUR 0.20 per hour.
• Battery electric cars are entitled to a 50% discount on parking fees.

Electric cars parking discount(external link) (pdf, 166 Kt).

• Parking fees do not apply to carsharing vehicles.

You can pay for parking with your mobile phone – either through a mobile payment service, via text message or by calling.

The following service providers currently operate in Espoo: EasyPark(external link), ParkMan(external link) and Moovy(external link).

Registration is required to use these services.

In addition to the parking fee, you will also pay the service provider’s service fee.

You can use the text message service to pay for one hour of parking at a time. The service does not require registration. In addition to the parking fee, you will also pay a service fee of EUR 1.00. Payment instructions: zone 1(external link) and zone 2(external link).

Through some mobile payment service providers, you can also pay for parking by calling(external link). 

Paid parking is one way of steering mobility and traffic towards the set climate goals. The paid parking areas are located near the city’s service clusters and public transport hubs.

The aim of paid parking is to:

• free up parking spaces for people visiting services;
• make it easier for drivers to find parking spaces;
• speed up the rotation of parking space use;
• utilise digitalised parking data as a traffic planning tool;
• share digitalised parking data as open data with application developers and applications.

Paid parking is part of the city’s action programme for parking in public areas.
Yleisten alueiden pysäköinnin toimenpideohjelma 2020-2022 (PDF, 1538 Kt) (in Finnish)

Park-and-ride facilities enable the use of a bicycle or passenger car as a part of the public transport travel chain. You can park your own vehicle in a park-and-ride facility near the station or stop and continue your journey smoothly by public transport. Park-and-ride facilities are only intended for the use of public transport customers.

For bicycles, park-and-ride facilities are free of charge and no time limits are applied.

For cars, park-and-ride facilities have some facility-specific limitations. Some of the facilities are free of charge while others charge a small fee. Park-and-ride facilities usually have a time limit of 10, 12 or 24 hours for cars. In a facility that charges a fee, you must also identify yourself as a public transport customer by purchasing or displaying a valid ticket.

When approaching the largest park-and-ride facilities, real-time information on the number of vacant parking spaces is displayed on traffic route and street network signs. Once you have entered the facility, make sure you check the limitations indicated by traffic signs and read the specific instructions provided on HSL information boards.

More information on park-and-ride facilities is available on the HSL Park & Ride website. You can also check the number of vacant parking spaces on a park-and-ride facility by clicking on the facility in question on the map displayed on the website.

HSL Park and Ride areas(external link)

Utilising shared resources, shared cars are a form of transport that is welcome in Espoo. As the variety of transport services increases, the need to own a car is reduced. A shared car can be taken in use whenever it is needed. The increase in and development of carsharing services in Espoo supports the city’s sustainable mobility goals.

There are several companies offering carsharing services in Espoo. The city enables the spread of shared cars: their allocated parking spaces are indicated by traffic signs at central locations in the city. There is no parking fee for shared cars in the City of Espoo’s paid parking spaces.

In addition, carsharing companies have made parking agreements with private operators and defined their own service areas. It is therefore a good idea to check the parking spaces allowed for shared cars in the app of each company that provides carsharing services.

Companies providing carsharing services may apply for a parking right from the City of Espoo. A parking right entitles the company to use parking spaces allocated for shared cars, marked with traffic signs. The parking right is free of charge and valid until further notice.

Companies may apply for the parking right if they meet the eligibility criteria set out in a separate call for applications and its appendices and undertake to comply with the conditions for the granting of parking rights.

Parking spaces for shared cars are marked with traffic signs and can be found on the Helsinki Metropolitan Area service map (external link)(external link).

Parking spaces that are subject to a fee for non-shared cars can be found in the Espoo Map Service.

The standard parking ticket in Espoo and Kauniainen is 60€. Parking tickets must be paid within 30 days of the date of issue, even if a demand for rectification has been submitted. If a ticket is not paid by its due date, the amount of the fine will be increased by 14€.

Parking tickets are paid to account FI53 8000 1000 8978 02.

A parking ticket is given for breaking prohibitions and restrictions regarding stopping, standing and parking or notifying regulations. A parking ticket can also be given for breaking prohibitions and restrictions regarding unnecessary idling of a motor vehicle.

If you have received a parking ticket, you can ensure the reason of the ticket and pictures taken by the traffic warden and, if necessary, file a demand for rectification on Helgapark(external link). A demand for rectification must be in writing, it cannot be done via phone.

If unsatisfied with a parking ticket, a demand for rectification can be done within 30 days of the date of issue. If a demand for rectification is filed after the due date, it may be disregarded.

A demand can also be freely written. Address:
City of Espoo
Parking control
P.O.Box 48
02070 City of Espoo

It must contain the traffic violation’s reference number, the appellant’s name, address, bank account number and the vehicles register number.

A demand for rectification must mention what kind of rectification is demanded and on what grounds. The application must include all files (for example a copy of a parking permit), the demand appeals to.

A parking error notice does not include a paid amount so it does not have to be paid and it cannot be rectified.

A vehicle can be removed in areas of the city of Espoo and the city of Kauniainen in separately mentioned situations to a nearby location, vehicle storage or straight to the final handler of waste. Conditions for moving a vehicle are set on the law on removing vehicles.

These situations are:

A vehicle which disturbs cleaning or work done in a street area in Espoo will be removed by the city to the nearest suitable location two days after a transfer request has been issued. Usually transfer requests are given with a traffic sign that indicates the estimated timing of the work. The owner is responsible for transfer fees.

City of Kauniainen takes care of transfers on its area.

A vehicle’s owner, holder or driver is obliged to move their vehicle from a scene of accident as soon as possible, two days latest. Vehicles that risk safety must be removed immediately. Either the police or the city can promptly remove vehicles that endanger traffic to a nearby storage area or another suitable location.

The city of Espoo will move incorrectly parked vehicles to the city’s vehicle storage in Espoo and Kauniainen area’s in two days of detecting incorrect parking. Also, vehicles that are incorrectly parked in private areas can also be moved from if requested by the owner or holder.

The city is obliged to take care of removing vehicles on the city’s area if the owner of an abandoned vehicles has neglected their duty according to the law on waste to deliver the vehicle to an appropriate place of reception from a street or public parking spots.

Abandoned vehicles are removed to the city’s vehicle storage. Before removal, the vehicles owner or holder will be given a recommendation to remove the vehicle in two days. A recommendation is given by attaching it to the vehicle.

You can report abandoned vehicles to our customer service or leave feedback on our feedback system. The report must tell the precise location, vehicle brand, colour and register number. Preferably also stating how long the car has been abandoned.

In case a vehicle has 5 or more parking tickets, the vehicle can be moved to the city of Espoo’s vehicle storage at once. It does not matter what municipality the tickets are given in. The vehicle will not be handed over until transfer fees and parking tickets are proved to be paid.

A vehicles owner has a right to reclaim a removed vehicle from the storage area. The owner must therefore be able to prove ownership. After removing a vehicle, the city of Espoo will give a written decision to the last marked owner of the vehicle or other known owner/holder. The decision recommends a vehicle is reclaimed from the storage area within 60 days. A list of unclaimed vehicles is available on the cities of Espoo and Kauniainen websites for a month including the announcement date.

Removal fees must be paid before reclaiming. The vehicle will be handed over to the owner in return for a payment receipt. If the vehicle is not reclaimed before the deadline, the city of Espoo will charge or take legal action to recover expenses from removing and storing the vehicle.

If the vehicles owner is unknown, the notice will be announced in the city of Espoo and the city of Kauniainen websites. If the owner cannot be found, ownership of the vehicle is given the city of Espoo in a month including the announcement date. The vehicles owner/holder is responsible to compensate fees from removal organising, moving, storing and management to the city of Espoo.

If a vehicle is destroyed to the extent that it is considered an end-of-life vehicle (ELV) according to the law on waste, the vehicle owner or holder obliged to deliver the vehicle to for scrapping. The vehicle owner or holder will be given a written recommendation to remove the vehicle within 7 days. If the recommendation is not followed, the city of Espoo has a duty to take care of the vehicle’s removal from nature and that ELVs are moved directly to the waste disposal operator.

ELVs from private properties are removed following a reasoned request from an owner or holder of the area.

Vehicles not in traffic use are not allowed to be stored on streets. Removal of traffic use alone does not mean that the vehicle would be removed from actual traffic use and ordering traffic tickets or removing the vehicle to a vehicle storage cannot be done based on that alone. The city of Espoo traffic control requires that for a vehicle registered in Finland at least two conditions of prohibiting traffic use are present in the vehicle register, these include, inter alia, the following:

• vehicle is removed from traffic use or has a written final removal
• vehicle is not registered
• vehicle has been uninspected for a longer time
• vehicle has been set for a driving ban
• vehicle taxes are unpaid

Vehicles registered abroad or without a register number, assessment will be based on external factors, is the vehicle out of actual traffic use. 

Espoo Technical Services Committee has decided fees on vehicle removal.

Removal fees are charged according to a private service provider’s invoice (VAT included). An average removal fee for a passenger car is 63,24€. Vehicle disposal fees are charged according to a private service provider’s invoice (VAT included). Additionally, the following vehicle specific fees are charged

• storing fee 24€/starting week (VAT 0%)
• assessment reward 33€ (VAT 0%)
• managing fees 41€ (VAT 0%)

End-of-life vehicles are received by scrap- and metal recycling shops

Kuusakoski Oy(ulkoinen linkki)(external link)  ja  Romu Keinänen Oy(ulkoinen linkki)(external link)

Frequently asked questions

1. Why do we have to pay for parking?

The construction and maintenance of parking spaces is not free. The costs are even higher if a street area needs to be widened by using a part of a plot or a park. It is therefore justified that the users of parking spaces take part in covering the construction and maintenance costs.

2. I am going to have a party, and parking is not allowed on my street. Where should my guests park their cars?

Official guest parking spaces are usually on the plot. The small number of guest parking spaces poses challenges especially during graduation and confirmation celebrations.

Inform the Urban Environment Sector’s customer service about your party and also specify the date and time of your event. Once you have appropriately informed us, we will be more lenient with guest parking in your area. We will advise our parking inspectors to avoid the area near your party, if possible. However, we cannot promise anyone that they will not be fined.

3. Why are the employees of elderly services fined for parking?

On 29 March 2021, the City Board made a decision that home care staff will start using parking permits this year. The Urban Environment Sector and the Welfare and Health Sector [SV1] are currently preparing the introduction of these parking permits.

Parking permits will first be tested in Tapiola and later they will be used more extensively. Private providers of home care services can also apply for a parking permit. The parking permit is a digital application that is available through home care. We will provide more information on how to apply for a parking permit later in 2021.

4. I did not see a traffic sign that prohibited parking. I was still fined. Why?

We receive the most questions about off-road parking fines. In built-up areas, parking is prohibited in parks, in off-road areas and on the road shoulder.

The sign for a no parking zone is another issue that causes confusion. The sign applies to the entire area and not only the area between two intersections. In these zones, you can only park in spaces where a specific sign indicates that parking is allowed. If you have questions about your parking fine, please call our customer service, tel. +358 9 81625100.

5. What is a no parking zone?

The sign for a no parking zone indicates that parking is prohibited in an entire area, on both sides of the street, until there is a sign that indicates that the zone ends. The zone also includes intersecting streets. In a no parking zone, you can only park in spaces where a specific sign indicates that parking is allowed.

6. Who decides how many parking spaces there are in Espoo?

Local detailed plans include regulations on the minimum number of parking spaces in connection with various functions such as residential, office and commercial buildings and public services. The aim of parking regulations is to ensure that there is a sufficient number of parking spaces available considering the site in question. Another aim is to ensure that parking spaces are used efficiently and their costs are allocated to the users. The city’s aim is to encourage residents to use sustainable means of transport.

In addition to the parking spaces on plots, local detailed plans reserve spaces for short-term guest and customer parking. For the purposes of public parking, there are on-street parking spaces and general parking areas (LP) indicated in the local detailed plan.

7. Espoo has the largest number of drivers in Finland. Why have you made driving so difficult?

The City of Espoo’s intention is not to make driving difficult but to offer alternative means of transport. For example, cycling and public transport are environmentally friendly alternatives to driving. However, they will not entirely replace private cars.

8. Cyclists think that Espoo is a city of cars. Is it?

Espoo is a city of various means of transport. The city strives to centralise its services in the urban centres that have good public transport connections. The aim is to encourage residents to use a variety of new alternative means of transport instead of private cars. Espoo is also constantly building new high-quality bicycle paths to offer cyclists more quick and continuous routes.

9. Is Espoo a driving or cycling city?

Espoo is a city of all means of transport, not just driving or cycling. In the future, people will continue to get around the city in many ways – on rails, by bus, car and bicycle and on foot.

Espoo is currently making significant investments in public transport. With the help of new public transport projects, including the West Metro, the City Rail Link and the Jokeri Light Rail, the city wants to make public transport an even more appealing alternative. In connection with these major projects, the city will also improve its park-and-ride facilities. Bicycle parking is another important area for improvement, and the city is seeking to provide warm facilities for bicycles.

The aim is to encourage residents to use a variety of new alternative means of transport instead of private cars. Espoo is committed to combating climate change and developing sustainable means of transport for example by doubling the share of cycling among all means of transport by 2024. The city is constantly developing its bicycle paths and city bike network.

Drivers have not been forgotten either. The current roads will not be sufficient in the future if the use of private cars continues to increase. If even some of the current drivers switched to alternative means of transport, the problems faced by drivers could be mitigated. As alternative means of transport become more popular, the problems and traffic congestion caused by the large number of cars will ease and this will also benefit those residents whose only option is to use private cars.

 [SV1]Tässä mainitaan sosiaali- ja terveystoimi (Social and Health Services), jota ei enää ole. Laitoin tilalle uuden eli hyvinvoinnin ja terveyden toimialan.

The  local detailed plan of Espoo regulate parking.  

The parking regulations are intended to: 

• determine the minimum number of parking spaces for housing, workplaces, commercial premises and public services 
• ensure that a sufficient number of parking spaces are implemented in a location to be constructed 
• ensure that the spaces are used efficiently and their costs are allocated to parties using them 
• direct residents to use sustainable modes of transport. 
  

Parking spaces exceeding the minimum requirement of the city plan regulations may be implemented, if possible in terms of space, for example. Parking spaces must primarily be placed on plots.  

In addition to parking spaces placed on plots, the local detailed plan reserves space for short-term parking for visitors and customers. Public parking can be placed in street areas as kerbside parking or public parking areas designated by the local detailed plan.  

The latest local detailed plans also set requirements for implementing bicycle parking spaces, in addition to car parking.

In new local detailed  plans and updates to local detailed  plans, parking regulations are based on the Parking principles report(external link) (in Finnish) and the parking space guidelines included in it. The minimum number of parking spaces as defined by the guidelines varies by location. In areas with good public transport connections, fewer parking spaces are needed than outside the city centres. In addition to this, the minimum number of parking spaces depends on whether the area will have blocks of flats, terraced houses or detached houses. 

The plan regulations provides two calculation methods for the number of parking spaces: one is based on the floor area, while the other is based on the number of dwellings. The parking spaces need to be implemented so that the minimum requirements for both calculation methods are met. 

In addition to housing, calculation instructions exist for the parking spaces of office and commercial premises, which vary by location and the purpose of the premises. For other facilities and services, parking regulations are prepared on a case-by-case basis according to the operations and location in question. 

The calculation instructions for parking spaces can be deviated from on justified grounds. The City Planning Department has compiled instructions on the principles for reducing parking spaces. According to these instructions, the minimum number of parking spaces may be reduced if the use of the spaces is made more efficient by taking alternate turns for using the spaces, for example.  

Various transport services can also be considered to reduce the need for parking spaces in a location. Such services could include shared cars and services related to cycling or the delivery of goods.  

The number of parking spaces can also be reduced if housing is being built for people who statistically own fewer car than other groups. For example, in student and rental housing subsidised by the government, a reduction in parking spaces is justified. In addition to this, urban infill sites by good transport connections do not require as many parking spaces as new building sites. 

The Public Works Department is in charge of the implementation, time limits and payments of public parking spaces in Espoo.  

Parking Control supervises the use of public parking spaces.

Espoo carries out parking censuses to support planning. The results of parking censuses are needed to assess the need for parking spaces and the opportunities for alternating parking. The utilisation rates of park-and-ride areas are analysed in the spring and autumn.   

Read about the latest census results on park-and-ride services in Espoo’s material bank(external link). (In Finnish).