Electric cars will no longer be able to park in Prague for free

Prague City Hall will likely put an end to free parking for electric cars at the start of next year. Prague Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib said the step will be part of a larger reform for the entire parking system to ease traffic in the center. Steps will be coordinated with city districts, he told TV Nova.

"We will have to end support for electric cars that park for free. It is something that made sense in the past, but now it no longer makes sense. An electric car takes up space like any other car," Hřib said.

Prague 1 representative and former city councilor for transport Richard Bureš confirmed that City Hall is consulting with the districts. He added he has no doubt the preferential treatment for electric cars will end. "I personally would have canceled it a long time ago."

The city also seems to be backing away from the idea of a discount parking rate for electric cars, which had been planned by the previous City Hall administration when Hřib was mayor. He told news site Aktualne.cz that the city would continue to support the development of electromobility through the construction of public slow- and fast-charging infrastructure.

The change will most impact commuters from outside of the city, who in recent years have become accustomed to parking their electric cars in Prague without restrictions. Many of them will now either have to pay for parking or commute by other means.

The idea of free parking for electric cars came during the administration of Mayor Adriana Krnáčová, who promoted the idea of emission-free transport in the capital by 2025. The regulation came into effect in 2019.

Hřib said that the parking reform could be completed by the end of this year, with effect from around January 2024. Discussions are ongoing, but one idea is that Prague residents living where blue zones apply would receive a 120-hour annual credit for discounted parking of 10 crowns per hour, which they could freely donate, Hřib said.

Even those who do not have a car would be entitled to the credit. This would solve the situation with craftspeople who usually charge the customer for expensive parking in addition to the price of their services.