The Ministry’s terms of reference for the development of the so-called methodological recommendations say that it is possible to reduce the burden on the roads and reduce parking time, mainly through economic methods. And that with a flexible rate scale it is possible to effectively manage traffic flows in busy city centers and to supplement city budgets to a large extent.
For buses, the Ministry of Transport recommends introducing leased lines to “harm compliance with legal values for the number of parking spaces”. It will now also be possible to enter a parking fee if the occupancy of allocated parking spaces exceeds 85%. With this approach, paid parking will not only be available in the big cities, but also in the neighborhood centres.
And although the methodology is only recommendations, not at all mandatory for use, the authorities of many large cities where there is no paid parking yet or where it is in its infancy, have embraced the idea. Because administering paid parking is an interesting activity for the budget.
To be afraid or not
In the past four months I have covered 30,000 km in Russia. I’ve been to many different cities, big and small. There was also a place where there is already paid parking – due to the allegedly incredible demand for parking space.
So I never had to pay for parking – there were always free spaces nearby. Even if you completely ban parking on the streets of cities, there is a stumbling block in 99% of cases.
Or local authorities would have to spend billions on new signs, markings, curbs, flower beds, barriers and parking lots – to force people to park only in paid spaces.
Bus and taxi
Encouraging the population to abandon private transport in favor of public transport only sounds good on paper. Public transport is poor in many regions. Bus intervals on some routes are not calculated in minutes, but in hours. Partly saves a taxi – slightly more expensive than a bus, but much faster and more comfortable.
In small towns, public transport simply stops running after a certain amount of time. And to start buses late at night so that he would give a ride to passengers who had been at a party is too expensive for local budgets.
In 40% of the regions there are fewer than 100 buses per 100,000 inhabitants. According to RBC, by 2022 in Russian cities, the number of public transport lines decreased by 4%, the number of buses by 7% and the average traffic interval in the 84 largest Russian cities increased from 16 to 19 minutes.
According to VEB, more than 1 trillion rubles are needed just for the development of public transport in 25 major Russian cities. And Russia is much bigger than these 25 cities.
Why now?
If we assume that behind all these plans is not the desire to get into the pockets of car owners, but the notorious “green agenda”, reducing exhaust emissions, organizing traffic and other urban charms, many questions arise.
There is a strong suspicion that this is not about the environment, but rather about replenishing regional budgets. In many cities, they rub their hands and wait for a new training manual. If you have a car, you have money.
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