Kyiv city authorities implemented a cashless voucher system in early February to pay for government-operated parking in the capital’s central parking zones.
The new system will be implemented in three stages and by the end of 2008, “parkomats,” or parking meters, will dot the downtown landscape.
“An automated parking system will keep drivers from giving bribes to parking attendants, which will bring about $1.9 million into the city budget monthly,” said Irena Kilchytska, a deputy mayor.
No longer accepting cash, city parking attendants will collect vouchers available at public transportation sales points and press kiosks.
About 10,000 vouchers worth Hr 3 million ($600,000) will be distributed in the first few weeks, Kilchytska said, but cab drivers are already complaining about their limited availability.
The vouchers are pieces of paper that must be attached to the car windshield. Cars missing vouchers will get slapped with a parking boot on the front wheel, along with an Hr 100 ($20) fine.
Parking costs vary by zones, with the city center, including European Square and streets adjacent to Khreschatyk, costing Hr 7 ($1.40) per hour.
The second zone, consisting of the greater central area (Naberezhno-Khreschatytska, Yaroslavska, Melnykova, Artema streets and Druzhba Narodiv Boulevard), will cost Hr 5 ($1).
All other streets in Kyiv will cost Hr 3 (60 cents) per hour. A day’s parking within the first zone will cost Hr 20 ($4), a monthly parking pass will cost Hr 300 ($60), according to the city government.
KyivParkTransService, the division administering the system, first implemented new rates six months ago. Earlier, parking in the city cost Hr 1 (20 cents) per hour, regardless of the zone.
Few drivers paid the full amount after the raise six months ago, believing the Hr 10 ($2) per hour rate to be too high for downtown parking.
At that time, local drivers avoided paying the fines by bribing parking attendants for less, or parked in undesignated places.
Since the voucher system was installed Feb. 1, 1,500 violators have already been fined, according to Serhiy Romanenko, company director for Commerce Auto Consulting, a company consults people buying new cars.
About 70 percent of Kyiv’s street parking is city-operated, while about 30 percent is run illegally by private individuals.
The new rates do not apply to private parking lots run by shopping centers and businesses.
Unlike private parking lots, which provide security surveillance of the cars parked there, city parking rates are merely a tax and don’t ensure the security of the cars, Romanenko said.
Some downtown parking areas, such as the area near the National Opera Theater on Volodymyrska Street, claim to be municipally owned, when in fact they are operated privately and have established their own prices – also without providing any security, Romanenko said.
Prices at private lots differ depending on their intended usage and location, though they typically range from Hr 7 ($1.5) to Hr 10 ($2) per hour. Parking near the Ukrayina shopping mall, however, is high, at $4 per hour, while supermarket parking is typically free.
City authorities’ are making further plans, including introducing payment for parking by mobile phone, and full automated parking zones.
In the plan’s final stage, about 30 fully automated parking lots will be created in the most crowded areas, Kilchytska said.
The system will be implemented in Ukraine’s other big cities in about six months, Romanenko said.
Fees will be 20 to 30 percent lower in other cities, according to Romanenko, while currently the average cost of parking in other cities is Hr 5 ($1) per hour.
In comparison, city parking in Prague is fully automated and costs $2 per hour.
“My strong belief is that the system will gradually be implemented all over Ukraine by next year, which will bring us Western standards, create more disciplined drivers and reduce traffic violations,” Romanenko said.
