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While people generally like not having to pay for something, free parking is quite divisive to the public. The interests of the locals conflict with those of the commuters, some prefer to pay simply not to be a big traffic jam and not to drown in smog, others can actually go to work without using public transport because of this. Meanwhile, even the mayors of Fidesz are looking for loopholes to somehow reduce the traffic chaos. Recent representative research by researcher Pulse also reveals that Hungarians are also very divided on the issue.
Like the first wave of the coronavirus in the spring, the government made parking across the country free in the fall. The official justification is that perhaps fewer people will use public transport and the disease will spread less.
The other reading of the measure is that the government, as it has done by foreclosing other major sources of revenue, wants to put municipalities in the largest settlements in an even more difficult position, where it did not perform very brightly in the municipal elections last fall.
However, paid parking, while an important source of income, is a traffic control tool. On the one hand, it diverts those who work inside and does not want to spend thousands of guilders a day on car parks and, on the other, it frees up parking spaces for locals.
Free parking has caused such chaos this fall, when working from home is not as typical as the first wave of last year was, that mayors, ruling parties and opposition supporters in major cities have moved every stone. to find gaps.
- The Fidesz mayor of Gy alcalr introduced a new parking regime in the city center on Wednesday. Free parking is only possible between 11am and 4pm, outside these hours only for those with valid parking passes.
- The mayor of Fidesz district 5 also wrote to Gergely Karácsony to provide free parking for local residents.
- The opposition VI. In the district, 30 percent of the parking spaces will soon be reserved for the population, and there will also be so-called micromobility points where bicycles, scooters and scooters can be parked.
- The VIII, also led by the opposition. The district mayor, András Pikó, in his letter to the mayor, citing the example of Győr, asks that zones be designated where only locals can park. He also added that free parking has greatly increased air pollution.
- The measure caused chaos in XIII. also in the district where Mayor József Tóth initiated the designation of restricted waiting areas.
The Air Task Force has also launched a petition to restore paid parking. Besides air pollution, the main problem for the organization is that there has been a large increase in the number of cars parked in green spaces. One of those cars can make life miserable for hundreds of pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation.
The same is the case with parcel carriers, which are increasingly needed in an epidemic situation. During the spring, it was also possible to experience that many people took the opportunity provided by free parking to get to the city center with their car that did not necessarily need it. And this has further increased the risk of an epidemic, writes the Air Task Force.
What do people think?
Already at the time of the first wave, our newspaper, with the help of the Pulse Researcher, asked people what they thought about free parking, we were quite interested in whether their car would use more as a result of the measure.
At the time, only 9 percent of the total Hungarian population said they sat in a car out of fear of public transportation and had the opportunity to do so because they didn’t have to pay for parking. Twelve percent said they understood it that way, meaning they sat in a car for financial reasons. Most responded that they did not have a car.
Now we ask what (use) those who have a car and those who do not think about the measure.
Among the entire Hungarian population, including residents of settlements where parking is not paid, 22 percent said they have a car and support the measure, and to their surprise, 37 percent, the largest group, said they were happy anyway. Free parking you don’t have a car.
In contrast, 16 percent of car owners and 25 percent of those who drive differently do not support it.
That is, at the national level, the result is 59 to 41 percent in favor of those who support free parking
– reveals representative research from Pulse Researcher.
The situation is different in Budapest
Due to its size, free parking affects the daily life of the people of the capital more. The proportions are quite different between them. Forty-five percent said they don’t have a car and don’t agree with the move, while 18 percent go with a car, but are unhappy with the free parking.
36 percent of Budapest support and 64 percent oppose free parking.
Interestingly, among young people (18-39), the proportion of those who enjoy free parking despite not having a car is very high, 43 percent. By contrast, 8 percent of them object while driving.
Graduates are more opposed
Compared to the average, many – 28 percent of graduates – oppose moving while they have a car, but 27 percent also oppose when not driving.
Among graduates, opponents “won” 55 percent, and only 45 percent supported the decision.
The government’s decision is more popular with women, as 64% support it and only 36% oppose it.
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