Bratislava changes fines for parking violations and passenger violations on public transport

The parking policy is intended to regulate parking and not be a punishment for minor mistakes. Therefore, for those who park honestly in the capital all year round, the first fine for unpaid parking is expected to be changed to a warning.

The mayor of the capital, Matúš Vallo, asked the government at this week’s governmental meeting in Bratislava to reduce the rate of parking fines. The current amount – 78 euros for objective liability – is set by law and applies to the whole of Slovakia. However, this rate is among the highest when compared with other cities and countries in Europe, and the city leadership sees no rational reason why people in Slovakia and Bratislava should pay the highest fines. Whether or not this rate will eventually be reduced is entirely in the hands of the government and parliament. However, Bratislava City Hall wants to bring relief to honest parkers, which is in its hands.

The vast majority of residents of PAAS zones are now satisfied that they have better parking conditions near their homes as residents and realise that this system would not work without effective inspection. Data from the operation of PAAS also indicate that Bratislava residents show above average responsibility when it comes to following parking rules compared to other cities. However, even those who pay responsibly can easily forget to pay the parking fee once in a while in the rush of their daily obligations. Between waiting for children, running to the store, or needing to deal with something at the office, they remember too late that they need to tap the parking fee in the app or don’t notice that the paid parking fee expired several minutes ago.

The aim of the parking policy, however, is not to punish people for minor mistakes and inattention. Therefore, the capital city’s leadership will submit a proposal to the February council meeting to change the first fine for unpaid parking fees in PAAS during a specified period of time to only a warning. Instead of a fine, the “offender” will instead receive a warning for violating the rules and a recommendation on how to avoid doing so in the future. For example, it is preferable to set a longer parking time in advance in the city’s PAAS parking app and then when leaving earlier, shorten it in the same app without any problems. Only the time actually used is then billed. Thousands of life situations cannot be resolved individually, but the proposed measure will create space for a “painless” reminder of the occasional mistake without jeopardising the functioning of the system.

Explained Matúš Vallo the mayor of the capital city:

“We consider this to be a pro-client decision that can help drivers even better understand that parking policy is a service that improves the quality of life and not a bogeyman that punishes drivers for inattention and whom we should fear. However, for those who deliberately and repeatedly circumvent the rules, the sanctions will remain unchanged."

The city at the same time wants to address another common situation: when an honest paying resident is caught by an inspector immediately after the expiration of a parking ticket. Already today, if a parking person is caught by an inspector and the system later shows that they had already purchased a ticket within a few minutes, no fine will be issued. According to the amended law, this should also apply in the opposite direction. If an inspector catches a parking person within a few minutes after the expiration of a valid ticket and before they leave with their car or before they pay for another ticket, the fine will also be waived. Likewise, if a resident forgets to renew their resident card, they will first receive a warning and not a fine immediately after its expiration.

The changes should also affect passengers on Bratislava’s public transport system. Here, too, the great majority of Bratislava residents travel honestly on public transport, and those who deliberately circumvent the system should face sanctions. Today, however, the amount of the fine has gradually climbed to 120 euros through an automatic mechanism in relation to the price of the ticket. This also ranks among the highest rates for travelling without a valid ticket compared with similar cities. Therefore, the municipality is proposing to reduce this rate in a fair way. Under the new amended law, the amount of the fine will be 79 euros for payment on the spot, 89 euros for payment within 10 working days, and 99 euros for payment later. Since on public transport it is not technically possible and for the comfort of passengers not desirable to have the same frequency of checks as with parking (where, moreover, this will be provided by scanning cars), a system of complete remission of the first fine could seriously endanger the functioning of public transport. Therefore, it is not possible to introduce such a change. However, under the new amended law, the transport company will completely forgive the fine for anyone who purchases an annual tram ticket within 15 working days of the offence or will forgive 50% of the fine if you buy a 90-day tram ticket at the same time.

Added Martin Rybanský, Chairman of the Board of Directors of DPB:

“The aim of transport inspection is to ensure fair conditions for all those who properly pay for transport. Currently, we already allow passengers to reduce the amount of their fine by opting for a longer-term solution and purchasing a subscription ticket, and now we are further strengthening this motivational principle. We see this as a fair and humane approach that motivates honest travel."

We will inform you in due time about the exact date of validity of the proposed changes.