Paid Parking Zones (PPZs) were just one of the ways the year 2020 was highly atypical. Due to the epidemic of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, PPZs were made free-of-charge by order of Prague City Hall starting 16 March 2020. This measure lasted until 10 May 2020 and brought about many changes in the functioning of the competent authorities that issue parking permits as well as in the resulting PPZ data. Changes to the software used by citizens to obtain and manage parking permits also took place.
The following table provides an overview of the basic types of parking zones used in Prague.
Types of PPZ in the centre of Prague | |||
Blue zone (residents) | Purple zone (mixed) | Orange zone (visitors) | |
Type of parking | Preferentially resident and subscriber parking | Combination of resident and paid parking | Paid parking |
Time of parking | Long-term parking for holders of parking permits; for visitors short-term paid parking (3 hrs) | Long-term parking for holders of parking permits; for visitors short-term paid parking (24 hrs) | Short-term paid parking (2 hrs) |
Users | Residents with permanet residence and businesses with place of business in PPZ; visitors after paying via virtual parking meter | Residents, business owners and visitors; combination of users to have more balanced use of parking capacity | Visitors to the given area |
Operation* | Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00 |
Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00 |
Mon-Fri 8:00-20:00 |
* This is the basic time of operation. Individual municipal districts may adjust this time.
Map of paid parking zones and P+R lots in Prague
Development of PPZ occupancy and percentage of vehicles with long-term permit during the PPZ suspension [%]
It follows from the above graph that the suspension of PPZs resulted in an influx of vehicles that otherwise do not regularly drive to the area.
New PPZ in Prague 10 (Vladivostocká street)
Infobox on Střelničná
Number of spots and parking machines in areas with PPZs (as of December 2020) | ||||||||||||||
P-1 | P-2 | P-3 | P-4 | P-5 | P-6 | P-7 | P-8 | P-9 | P-10 | P-13 | P-16 | P-22 | TOTAL | |
Blue zone (resident) | 6 112 | 7 896 | 11 196 | 12 972 | 7 161 | 18 299 | 6 595 | 9 621 | 0 | 13 213 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 93 065 |
Purple zone (mixed) | 1 866 | 3 467 | 3 289 | 8 761 | 4 930 | 8 393 | 2 140 | 4 828 | 3 655 | 5 808 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 47 137 |
Orange zone (vistitors) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 192 | 87 | 5 | 550 | 94 | 0 | 60 | 56 | 18 | 120 | 1 182 |
Other | 598 | 629 | 592 | 835 | 583 | 1 083 | 426 | 576 | 153 | 654 | 5 | 2 | 6 | 6 142 |
TOTAL | 8 576 | 11 992 | 15 077 | 22 760 | 12 761 | 27 780 | 9 711 | 15 119 | 3 808 | 19 735 | 61 | 20 | 126 | 147 526 |
Number of parking machines | 87 | 113 | 115 | 185 | 119 | 205 | 94 | 101 | 66 | 91 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 1 182 |
A new aspect of the PPZ system was the installation of payment information stands, termed infoboxes, the aim of which is to partially replace less used parking meters in selected areas. The infoboxes feature information on how to pay for marking, the procedure for paying online, a map with the closest parking meters and other essential information for people parking.
P+R lots for parking of passenger vehicles have been in operation in the City of Prague since 1997. At the end of 2020 it was possible to park a car and continue on by public transport at 21 P+R lots with a total capacity of 3 710 (3 475 spots for the basic function of the P+R system, 150 spots for the disabled and 85 long-term contract spots for use by residents). For P+R lots with technology that allows monitoring of the number of vehicles parked, a total of 590 203 vehicle entries were registered over the whole year.
Further expansion of the P+R system is supported by the Sustainable Mobility Plan for Prague and Surroundings. It is anticipated that by 2030 there will be around 12 000 spots within Prague (primarily by metro stations) and nearly 8 000 in the Central Bohemia Region (primarily by railway stations and stops).
If we compare the P+R lots with year-round registration of parked cars in 2019 and 2020, compared to last year an average decline of 35.3 % in P+R lot use was recorded. It can be assumed that this drop is directly connected to COVID-19 and the adopted government measures, as there has never been such a large drop-off in demand in the history of P+R lots in Prague
Usage of the basic function of P+R lots | ||||
P+R lot | Number of spots | Cars parked | ||
Oct 2020 | Year | |||
Běchovice |
92 | without evidence | ||
Běchovice-střed |
60 | without evidence | ||
Braník |
110 | without evidence | ||
Černý Most 1 (do 06/20) |
294 | - | 32 260 | |
Černý Most 2 |
131 | 2 749 | 34 576 | |
Depo Hostivař |
169 | 3 134 | 41 374 | |
Holešovice |
74 | 2 484 | 30 241 | |
Chodov |
653 | 10 646 | 149 536 | |
KCP |
260 | 1 055 | 15 496 | |
Kotlářka |
181 | without evidence | ||
Ládví |
78 | 1 903 | 23 485 | |
Letňany |
633 | 10 308 | 146 295 | |
Nové Butovice |
57 | without evidence | ||
Opatov |
208 | 1 769 | 28 858 | |
Písnice |
95 | without evidence | ||
Radotín |
36 | 276 | 3 915 | |
Rajská zahrada |
88 | 1 509 | 20 113 | |
Skalka 1 |
63 | 1 408 | 12 333 | |
Skalka 2 |
74 | without evidence | ||
Troja |
269 | without evidence | ||
Zličín 1 |
83 | 2 219 | 29 549 | |
Zličín 2 |
61 | 1 677 | 22 172 |
For usage of P+R, the strongest period was the first two months of the year, i.e. the last months before the restrictions on movement related to COVID-19. In March and May, use of P+R lots fell to 42 % of the values reached in the same months of 2019, while April recorded the utterly lowest usage of around 13 %. In October and December, P+R use was somewhat greater, but even so it was only around 54 %, and in November it once again saw even lower values of around 36 %. In the inter-period of eased restrictions (June to September), P+R use was at a level of 84 % of the comparable period in 2019.
K+R “Kiss and Ride” points allow for short-term stopping of vehicles in order for passengers to exit or enter vehicles. Currently there are 37 lots of this type available by public transport stops and stations within the City of Prague with a total capacity of 138 spots. Other K+R spots near schools and public offices are not part of the above numbers (e.g. the newly established K+R lot on Vyskočilova).
K+R points in Prague | |
Bořislavka (Evropská), Dejvická (Evropská), Dejvická (Evropská hotel), Hradčanská (Milady Horákové), Nádraží Veleslavín (Evropská), Náměstí Míru (náměstí Míru), Nemocnice Motol (Kukulova), Petřiny (Na Petřinách), Želivského (Vinohradská)* |
|
Černý Most (Chlumecká), Florenc (Sokolovská), Nové Butovice (Bucharova), Radlická (Radlická) |
|
Háje (Opatovská), Háje (U Modré školy), Chodov (Roztylská), I. P. Pavlova (Legerova), Kačerov (Michelská), Kobylisy (Nad Šutkou), Ládví (Střelničná), Letňany (Beladova), Opatov (Chilská), Prosek (Prosecká), Vltavská (nábř. Kpt. Jaroše) |
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Hostivař (U Hostivařského nádraží), Radotín (Věštínská), Radotín (Vrážská) |
* temporarily invalid