Prague is preparing to limit free parking for electric cars

So far, this is one of the great advantages for owners of electric cars or plug-in hybrids, which often move around Prague – for parking in blue zones with a special “electric car” sign, beginning with the letters “EL”, it does not have to. Soon, however, Prague councilors could reduce this privilege quite drastically.

Proposals for the “blue zones”, ie the system of paid parking zones (ZPS), which are gradually expanding throughout the city, were discussed by representatives at a meeting on June 16, but the municipality informed about it only a few days later. The change in car mode to the outlet was one of the points.

The proposed change is that only electric vehicles registered in Prague could park freely in the Prague ZPS. So whoever drives an electric car to the capital to work and uses free parking would be unlucky.

The reason is simple – cars with an electric car brand are increasing. By the way, we can sense that free parking is temporary even for cars registered in Prague – it will work until councilors decide that there are too many of them in Prague as well.

“Unfortunately, Prague is not inflatable. The original intention to have all zero-emission or low-emission cars parked for free, regardless of where they were, was absolutely right, but the time has shifted. This type of car has become very widespread and we must primarily think of Praguers who live here and entrepreneurs who do business in Prague, “said representative Tomáš Portlík (ODS).

Of course, this would reduce the motivation for commuters to buy a low-emission vehicle. Representatives of Peugeot, BMW and Volkswagen agreed on this, cited by the iDnes.cz website.

As a reminder, the starting letters EL can be obtained by people on those cars that emit up to 50 g CO2 per kilometer driven. It includes most plug-in hybrids and all electric cars or hydrogen cars with fuel cells. In addition to free parking in Prague, cars with this sign also do not have to pay a motorway stamp.

Other proposed changes to the ZPS include a number of parking hours per year, which each resident could spend on visits or craftsmen. The design reduces the number to 60 or 120 hours.

Favorable visitor parking could also be introduced, in other words a flat rate for a certain time for people who go to certain places regularly, and the possibility for urban areas in busy locations of short-term parking above the current maximum.

The city wants to further automate the evaluation of parking violations in the zones. Due to the lack of police officers, he wants the suspicion to become a straightforward offense without proof by the city police. But how such a thing stands in terms of the presumption of innocence is a question.

The proposed changes, if approved, should be adopted in early 2023.