Electric and hybrid cars can park for free in public car parks managed by the Municipality of the Capital. Over the past month, however, there has been discussion at the municipal level as to whether this facility should be removed. In the end it was decided that it was better not to, to encourage the purchase of less polluting vehicles. Only problem: in Bucharest the number of hybrid and electric cars has increased a lot in recent years and is almost 4 times higher than the number of parking spaces in the Capital City Hall. So if everyone uses this structure, there is no more room for others.
The parking revolution – November 2022 -12Photo: Hotnews
Since 2016, electric and hybrid cars registered in Bucharest can park for free in the parking lots managed by the Capital City Hall. That is, they do not pay the parking fee between 2.5 and 10 lei/hour, depending on the area. In October, Deputy Mayor Stelian Bujduveanu, in charge of urban mobility, publicly questioned a draft General Council decision that only electric cars would be eligible for this free service.
The other day, Stelian Bujduveanu announced that he will propose to keep it free.
“We have decided to keep the free rate for hybrid cars as well. Public institutions will pay for parking in Bucharest. No privileges, just like in the City Hall,” he wrote on the Facebook page.
The capital’s town hall currently manages around 17,000 parking spaces, Stelian Bujduveanu told HotNews.ro. This does not include the more than 2,000 seats given free to various state institutions.
According to data provided by the Directorate of Driving License Regime and Vehicle Registration in Bucharest, there are over 65,000 hybrid and electric cars:
- Electric vehicles registered in the Municipality of Bucharest -10.012
- Hybrid vehicles registered in Bucharest – 55,692;
Deputy Mayor Bujduveanu says new parking spaces are being allocated every day, and by the end of next year there will be 30,000 spaces, but even so there are still not enough.
We also asked the other political groups in the General Council whether they would vote to keep parking free for hybrid cars.
The USR Group claims to support it for free.
“We have positioned ourselves from the beginning for the preservation of this free hybrid car. We have also discussed within the town hall to keep this structure precisely because all the plans of the European Union say that any little help in the sense in which it helps to reduce the carbon footprint is recommended.Hybrid or electric help, there are also studies, to be within these standards by 2030. There are many cars, but Romania has undertaken some European projects, we are part of these projects. Do you want us to go into violation?” said Nicorel Nicorescu, general counsel of the USR.
He says that if we don’t encourage this more clean area, we will not be able to achieve the goals set by the European Union.
The PSD group says it’s a hereditary measure, but will vote to keep it free.
“We have approached RAR to tell us exactly how many there are. I told Mr Bujduveanu and he shrugged. We will vote to keep it free, but will hold a press conference before telling them they won’t have anywhere to park. I’m just making it happen,” PSD general counsel Aurelian Bădulescu told HotNews.ro.
So, at this point, if the bill to take the free rides off hybrid cars were put to a vote, it wouldn’t pass.
How many cars are there in Bucharest and Ilfov
The number of cars registered in Bucharest and Ilfov has increased by more than 560,000 in the past 10 years, approaching 1.8 million, according to data communicated by the Bucharest Prefecture and the Directorate of the Driving License Regime and Vehicle Registration on request of HotNews.ro. Strictly in Bucharest, the increase was almost 30%. In Ilfov the growth is spectacular, the number of registered cars has almost tripled.
Over the past 5 years, the number of cars registered in Bucharest and Ilfov has increased by more than 320,000, according to a response sent by the Directorate of Driving License Regime and Vehicle Registration.
Thus, in 2017, 1,296,607 vehicles were registered in Bucharest and 166,467 in Ilfov, for a total of 1,463,071. In 2022, in Bucharest, their number increased to 1,529,221 cars, and in Ilfov to 256,007, for a total of 1,785,228 cars.
Thus, in Bucharest the number of cars increased by more than 232,000, and in Ilfov by almost 90,000 vehicles. In total, the increase is over 320,000 cars.
Compared to 2011, the increase is enormous. According to data provided in 2016 by the Prefecture of Bucharest, in 2011 in Bucharest and Ilfov 1,224,816 cars were registered. In Bucharest alone, at the end of 2011, 1,131,807 cars were registered. In Ilfov, at the end of 2011, 93,009 cars were registered.
What Happened to the “Parking Revolution”
Although more than 2,000 fines and nearly 6,000 summons were issued to those who also parked on the sidewalk, in the first 3 months of the action the cars reappeared as soon as the Local Police left the area. It was only successful where bollards were placed and cars could no longer occupy the space intended for pedestrians.
In parallel, the Municipality of the Capital has approved thousands of new parking spaces, and by the end of next year promises to draw them on 850 streets. Bollards will also be placed on these roads, Deputy Mayor Stelian Bujduveanu told HotNews.ro. To increase the pace, signs and bollards will no longer be managed only by the Road Administration, but by 7 entities within the Municipality of the Capital.
