On the holiday of November 4, a resident of St. Petersburg, Ekaterina Solovyova, tried to pay for parking her car in her hometown through the “Parking of Russia” application. But she failed.
“I usually use just one app, which is easier to use,” says Ekaterina. – When I opened it in St. Petersburg on November 4, it reported that parking was free that day. And in Moscow it is like that during the holidays, but not here. Apparently this application is linked to the capital, since with it I could not pay for parking in the center of my city. I had to switch to the St. Petersburg app, which doesn’t work very well. In the end, they still fined me for supposedly unpaid parking.
There really is a problem of inconsistency in applications, as confirmed by the All-Russian Society of Motorists (VOA).
– We recommend using the Saint Petersburg application in the northern capital. And not only because you can pay for parking on weekends and holidays. It should also be taken into account that now in St. Petersburg you pay per minute starting from the second hour, and this can only be used in the city application,” says Valeri Soldunov, member of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. , President of the SAI.
The difference in the way of paying for parking in St. Petersburg and Moscow raises questions among residents of the northern capital, which they raise on the page of the city’s transport committee on the social network.
“Why do we have to pay for parking on weekends and holidays? This does not happen either in Moscow or in large European cities. A Sunday walk with the family to take a stroll through the center costs a considerable amount,” he said. complains the car’s owner, Alexander. .
The St. Petersburg Transport Committee responds that there are no plans to introduce calendar benefits in the city, since car owners in the northern capital usually pay relatively little for parking.
According to the department, traffic flow measurements show a high intensity of vehicle traffic in the paid parking area, not only on weekdays. Reducing the collection time for parking fees, or canceling them on weekends and holidays, will attract an influx of vehicles and burden the road network, Comtrans believes.
The department also notes that in St. Petersburg, “fair” conditions have been created for the use of paid parking: “The cost of one hour of parking is one of the lowest in the country (100 rubles for category B vehicles). In “Moscow can reach 450 rubles. In addition, in the capital paid parking is available 24 hours a day (except on weekends), in St. Petersburg it is free every day from 8:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.,” the committee explains.
A motorist from St. Petersburg pays much less for parking than a motorist from Moscow. And sometimes
SAI President Valery Soldunov adds that in Moscow parking fees on weekends and holidays are not canceled everywhere.
– The capital has a large paid parking area. Unlike St. Petersburg, you have to pay for parking there not only on the busiest streets, but also in many other places. And on weekends and holidays there is no free parking in the most popular places in Moscow. The streets in the city center that are paid the maximum rate, up to 450 rubles per hour, continue to pay, the expert explains.
According to Valery Soldunov, if we take into account that in the Northern capital one hour of paid parking costs 100 rubles, this has not been introduced everywhere and only from 8.00 to 20.00, it turns out that a St. Petersburg motorist pays much less for parking than a Moscow driver. And sometimes. And if in doubt, you can perform an experiment.
– Nowadays, a motorist incurs a lot of costs and any additional costs are bad. However, any changes to the paid parking system will need to be tested. If the Moscow experience is supposed to reduce costs for St. Petersburg residents, it can be tried somewhere in the city’s paid parking spaces, community motorists admit.
By the way
In 2023, Moscow motorists will be able to park for free on 69 weekends and holidays. But on Sundays the benefit does not apply to streets with rates of 380 and 450 rubles per hour. But during holidays, parking in the capital is free everywhere, that is, 18 days a year.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS