Bandić announced parking fees at all public places in Zagreb

The President of the Zagreb City Assembly, Andrija Mikulić (HDZ), said on Thursday that he would comment on the mayor’s announcement regarding the introduction of a one-hour ZET ticket and the expansion of parking fees across the city when he receives the official proposal, and generally believes that price increases are not good.

Mayor Milan Bandić said on Wednesday for Radio Sljeme and several other media that he is considering introducing a one-hour ZET ticket, priced at six or seven kuna, and charging for parking in all public spaces in the city, at symbolic prices.

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Several Zagreb parliamentary parties that commented on this announcement for Hina oppose such a move.

“For now, I can only say generally that it is not good for something to become more expensive, whether it is public transport or parking,” said Mikulić (HDZ) and added that when concrete information is presented, the City Assembly will discuss it.

“Key”

The President of the Club of City Representatives of the SDP, HSS, and Naprijed Hrvatska!-Progressive Alliance, Zvane Brumnić (SDP), emphasized that the price of the ZET ticket at four kuna is good because a large part of the citizens has started using public transport and said that he is not in favor of increasing the ticket price.

He stated that the City of Zagreb needs to create a comprehensive traffic strategy for the city and that the SDP has been requesting this for several years. The intention should be to encourage public transport, which means, he added, that one cannot travel from Jarun to Ban Jelačić Square in 40 minutes on public transport, and that the “yellow lane” must be respected.

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“And nothing that Bandić gives to someone is free. Citizens pay for all of that. And that is the key,” said Brumnić. “Bandić has ‘lured’ citizens before the elections. This is classic Bandić. Before the elections, he lowers the price, and then when he feels secure, he would now raise the price,” said Brumnić.

One before, another after the elections

The President of the Club of City Representatives of the Left Bloc in the Zagreb City Assembly, Tomislav Tomašević (Zagreb is ours!), emphasized that Bandić’s announcements regarding the introduction of parking throughout the city and the potential abolition of the ZET ‘short’ ticket at four kuna should be viewed together as they show that there is no systematic traffic policy, but rather one thing is done before the elections and another after.

“We therefore oppose the decision on parking, which we see only as a new tax, and we strongly oppose the abolition of the short ZET ticket at four kuna because it has increased the number of passengers in public transport, which is important for both ecological and social reasons,” Tomašević stated.

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The Zagreb HSLS commented on the proposal in a statement. It called on all parties in the Zagreb parliament to oppose it and thereby prevent a new increase in the cost of living for Zagreb residents, and that the necessary but insufficient financial resources in the budgets of the City and Zagreb Holding that would be secured in this way should be found through redistribution and responsible planning of the existing budget.

City representative Darko Klasić emphasizes, as stated in the statement, that HSLS considers the proposal “hypocritical because many existing parking spaces, although they have been in the payment system for years, are neither arranged nor safe for use.” The insufficient number of parking spaces is resolved by building new ones, not by expanding payment, which, this party believes, would increase parking costs for more than 70 percent of citizens.