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DRIVING

Stockholm to hike resident parking charges by 500 kronor a month

Stockholm’s resident parking permits - which allow residents to park in the city centre at a highly discounted price compared to standard day rates - have remained the same price since 2016, but that’s about to change.

Published: 2 October 2023 15:14 CEST
Stockholm to hike resident parking charges by 500 kronor a month
A parking sign on Hornsgatan in Stockholm. Photo: Christine Olsson/TT

From early next year, Stockholm city council will hike the price of resident parking permits in the city centre by 500 kronor a month, while lowering charges for tradespeople and deliveries across the city.

The city’s leadership, made up of the Social Democrats, Left Party and Green Party, has decided to raise resident parking charges from February 1st, 2024 for both cars and motorbikes, in order to increase the number of empty parking spots in the city centre.

“The point of parking charges is to make sure there are always a certain number of empty parking spaces,” transport councillor Lars Strömgren said in a statement.

“That means drivers don’t have to drive around searching for a spot. Unfortunately, inflation has slowly eroded the fees and lessened the traffic-managing effect.”

“In order to make it easier to get around the city centre, we need to raise the fees for resident parking.”

From February, residents in zones 2 and 3, which includes Kungsholmen, Vasastan, Södermalm, City and Gamla stan, will have to pay an extra 500 kronor a month for car parking permits, or 125 kronor a month for motorcycles.

“It’s a noticeable difference, but it’s worth pointing out that resident parking is a very significant discount compared with the usual price of on-street parking,” Strömgren said.

The fees for nyttoparkeringstillstånd, which are often used by companies with service vehicles or delivery vehicles which only have to park for short periods at a time, will be lowered by 2,500 kronor a year, with the maximum parking time extended from two to three hours.

“We’re prioritising vehicles which have the most difficulty in finding an alternative,” Strömgren said. “Most people who live in the city centre can easily replace a car journey with cycling or public transport. For people who rarely use their car, it makes more sense to have it parked in a garage. A tradesman who relies on a big service vehicle doesn’t have the same opportunity to avoid parking on the street.”

New fees from February 1st

Resident parking for cars in zones 2 and 3 will increase from 1,100 kronor to 1,600 kronor per month, and 75 to 90 kronor per day.

Resident parking for motorbikes in zones 2 and 3 will increase from 275 to 400 kronor a month, and 18.75 to 22.50 kronor per day.

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For members

DRIVING

EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

The EU has agreed to extend the number of driving offences for which motorists from other member states can be fined for and to make it easier for authorities to chase up the fines and make foreign drivers pay.

Published: 13 May 2024 17:28 CEST
EU countries to extend range of offences foreign drivers can be fined for

In the last voting session of this term, in April, the European Parliament passed new rules to ensure drivers who breach local traffic rules in another EU member state are found and fined.

The cross-border enforcement (CBE) directive was first adopted in 2015 after it was found that non-resident drivers were more likely to commit speeding offences. The European Commission estimated that in 2008, foreign drivers accounted for about 5 percent of road traffic in the EU but committed around 15 percent of speeding offences.

The directive partially improved the situation, but according to the Commission 40 percent of traffic violations committed in other EU countries are still unpunished “because the offender is not identified or because the fine is not enforced”.

In March 2023, the Commission therefore proposed updating existing measures.

New rules extend the type of offences that will trigger assistance from another member state and seek to improve collaboration among national authorities to identify and fine offenders.

The European Parliament and Council agreed in March on the final text of the directive, which is now being formally approved by the two institutions.

André Sobczak, Secretary-General at Eurocities, a group representing European cities in Brussels, said: “While the final outcome of the discussions is not ideal, we are pleased that EU policymakers have at least put the issue of the enforcement of local traffic rules on foreign vehicles on the table. As we approach an election year, I believe such a practical example can demonstrate why a European approach is necessary to address local issues.”

Which traffic offences are covered?

The previous directive covered eight driving misconducts that would require member states to cooperate: speeding, not wearing seat belts, failing to stop at a red traffic light, drink-driving, driving under the effect of drugs, not wearing a helmet (motorcycles / scooters), using a forbidden lane and using a mobile phone or other communication devices while driving.

The Commission proposed to add to the list not keeping a safe distance from the vehicle in front, dangerous overtaking, dangerous parking, crossing one or more solid white lines, driving the wrong way down a one way street, not respecting the rules on “emergency corridors” (a clear lane intended for priority vehicles), and using an overloaded vehicle.

The Parliament and Council agreed to these and added more offences: not giving way to emergency service vehicles, not respecting access restrictions or rules at a rail crossings, as well as hit-and-run offences.

Despite calls from European cities, the new directive does not cover offences related to foreign drivers avoiding congestion charges or low emission zones. In such cases, information about vehicle registration can only be shared among countries with bilateral agreements.

Karen Vancluysen, Secretary General at POLIS, a network of cities and regions working on urban transport, called on the next European Commission to take other local traffic offences, such as breaches of low emission zones, “fully at heart”.

Collaboration among national authorities

For the traffic violations covered by the directive, EU countries have to help each other to find the liable driver. The new directive further clarifies how.

Member states will have to use the European vehicle and driving licence information system (Eucaris) to get the data of the offender.

National authorities will have 11 months from the date of the violation to issue the fine to a vehicle from another EU member state. However, they will not have to resort to agencies or private entities to collect the fine. This was requested by the European Parliament to avoid scams or leaks of personal data.

Authorities in the country of the offender will have to reply to requests from another EU member state within two months.

When the amount of the fine is more than €70, and all options to have it paid have been exhausted, the member state where the violation occurred can ask the country of the offender to take over the collection.

The person concerned will be able to request follow-up documents in a different official EU language.

When will the new rules will be enforced?

Now that the EU Parliament has passed the law, the EU Council has to do the same, although there is no date set for when that will happen. Once the directive is adopted, EU countries will have 30 months to prepare for implementation.

Last year the Commission also proposed a new directive on driving licenses, but negotiations on the final text of this file will only take place after the European elections.

This article has been produced in collaboration with Europe Street news.

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