Paid parking zones began to proliferate in Budapest in the 2000s and gradually spread to more and more districts, until today the capital has turned into a big parking money pump.
Do the interests of local residents come first?
At first, the local residents welcomed the new method of traffic control, since
FOR A FEW THOUSAND HUF REIMBURSEMENT, IT STILL SEEMS BELIEVABLE THAT THE INTRODUCTION OF PAYING PARKING ZONES SERVED THEIR INTERESTS.
The communication in that period was about traffic reduction and justice aspects.
- Traffic reduction: with the introduction of parking fees, local governments wanted to reduce car traffic, hoping that the environmental burden could be reduced and the quality of life of the residents could improve.
- Fairer distribution of parking spaces: the toll system was intended to make it easier for local residents to find a parking space, as it was assumed that the fees could reduce long-term unjustified parking.
Will this joke be the end?
By 2025, however, it seems to be all of this has changed radically would have.
SOME CAPITAL DISTRICTS ARE COMPETING WITH EACH OTHER TO ANNOUNCE INCREASE IN RESIDENT FEES:
- The new mayor of Hegyvidék, Gergely Kovács, published on his social media the increase in prices, which he described as “brutal” in his own words.
- The company operating the parking lot in Ferencváros notified the residents with a parking permit by letter that the annual tariff will be increased by ten times the previous fee.
Interestingly, the latter once again promises the local residents that they are doing well:
we expect that the number of issued permits and, consequently, the number of cars parked on the street will decrease, as those who have their own parking space or do not actually use their car will not issue a permit.
The XII. The district leader and the co-chairman of the Kétfarkú Kutya Párt also says the same thing. According to him, residents currently receive far more free parking permits than there are parking spaces in the district, so the purpose of the new parking ordinance is to allow parking.
There are public doubts about expertise
However, the majority of district residents are skeptical, and comment on the mayor’s announcement – that he analyzed the proposal for the November board meeting with the involvement of thousands of experts – as follows:
What thousands of experts? Is this a joke sir?? What do you pay these experts for?? I have no more questions.
Parking prank! HUF 2,000 per month? Almost HUF 67 per day??? Who can afford to pay this in this district???
This evening I walked along 4-5 streets around midnight and saw at least 30 free parking spaces (…) According to them, there is plenty of space for the people who live here, that is, the people who live here should not be harassed.
From 8 in the morning to 10 in the evening, the parking fee zone of HUF 600/hour is valid in the XII. district. Photo: András Sánta, Economx
The example is contagious, the money enriches the districts
Local motorists also have to pay more in Terézváros, Erzsébetváros, and Józsefváros, because discounts for district residents are significantly reduced, while everywhere it is emphasized that the fee increases aim at a fairer distribution of parking spaces and a more sustainable use of public spaces. However, parking fees do not go to the state budget, but are part of local government revenues.
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS CAN MANAGE THESE RESOURCES WITHIN THEIR OWN DECISION-MAKING AREA.
The protection of the interests of the car is out of order
The Hungarian Automobile Club recently resolution published, in which he generally comments on the capital’s parking system. In this they remind me to their old position also, according to
“UNFORTUNATELY, THE CAPITAL DOES NOT HAVE A DISCUSSED AND ACCEPTED STRATEGY FOR VEHICLE TRAFFIC, PARKING AND VEHICLE STORAGE,
its only tool is banning, ousting, and often “shooting in the foot” the stated “green” goals, it takes decisive action, largely due to the pressure of the green and cycling lobby.” It is also written that
The perceptible and inexpedient, harmful processes are compounded by the tendency of the proliferation of waiting places, which are primarily designated by the districts and subject to public parking permits, the further spread of which may have unforeseeable consequences for the functionality of the city, and which is clearly contrary to the provisions of the legislation in force, but is at least worrisome (the 20/1984./XII./KM Decree Technical Regulations Clause 35.8).
It is further stated that
THE HUNGARIAN AUTO CLUB OPPOSES THE EXCESSIVE BURDENS IMPOSED ON CAR USERS,
however, in the operation of parking, it accepts a fee level that aims to create a reasonable supply and demand relationship and does not exceed this.
It’s a hundred-million-dollar bonus
In the absence of accurate data, it is difficult to determine how many private cars are owned by the public, for example in Budapest XII. in the district. Based on 2022 data from the Central Statistical Office (KSH). it is known that there were a total of 573,264 passenger cars registered in the capital at that time.
At that time, the population of Hegyvidék was about 60,000 people, and if we assume that the distribution of cars is proportional to the population, then the XII. there were about 19,500 cars in the district. However, this is an estimated value – and it is believed to be underestimated – but it is also obvious that not the entire local car stock is registered within the parking zones.
However, if we permissively assume that a third of the district’s car owners have their registered address in a paid zone, then we are talking about 6,500 people and an extra payment of HUF 30,000 per person, which will enrich the coffers of the Buda district by HUF 195 million this year.
Source: www.economx.hu
