Free parking for electric cars to be abolished in two years

While the capital under the leadership of Gergely Karácsony projects the vision of a more liveable Budapest, things look different in practice, especially when it comes to local transport emissions, according to harsh criticism from the Association for Electromobility.

One of the biggest advantages of electric cars is that they cause no local emissions, and the biggest beneficiaries of this would be city dwellers, whose health is not taken into account in similar regulations. The reasoning behind the new regulation is complex and equates plug-in hybrids with pure electric cars. The new regulation, which was passed without a feasibility study, will certainly slow down the transition to e-cars, and in its current form it is about nothing more than increasing revenue for the capital.

Alexandra Szentkirályi, leader of the Fidesz-KDNP parliamentary group in the capital, pointed out at a press conference that instead of building P+R car parks and improving rail transport, Budapest’s city leaders are making the people of Budapest pay with the increase in parking fees and the planned new regulation on green licence plates.