Chamber of Commerce Massively Criticizes New Parking System in Vienna

From March 2022, a comprehensive short-term parking zone will apply throughout the city of Vienna.

On the part of the city, this will put an end to the frequently criticized and differing parking regulations in the individual districts.

New concepts in parking management are necessary in order to implement climate-relevant measures.

• Comprehensive short-term parking zones and a uniform parking permit system in every district from March 1, 2022. From this date, parking throughout Vienna will only be permitted with a parking permit or parking ticket. Parking without a fee will then no longer be possible in most of Vienna.
  • Parking with a parking permit in one's own residential district and in overlap zones is permitted for an unlimited period of time (with the exception of business streets). In other districts, parking is only possible with a parking ticket from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. (excluding public holidays).
  • Exceptions to the parking permit or parking ticket will only be made in individual sparsely populated areas such as commercial or industrial zones.
• The concrete changes in the districts are as follows:
  • In districts 11, 13, 21, 22 and 23, the short-term parking zone - and thus the resident permit - will be introduced across the board for the first time. The short-term parking zone will be valid from March 1, 2022 in all districts from Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a maximum parking time of 2 hours. 
    • All regulations in districts 1 to 9 and 20 will remain in place.
  • Short-term parking zones will continue as usual Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. for a maximum parking duration of 2 hours.
  • In districts 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19, the short-term parking zone will be standardized and adapted to the regulations of the inner districts. From March 1, 2022, the short term parking zone will also apply here from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the parking duration will be reduced to 2 hours.
• How much does the parking permit cost?
  • The cost of the parking permit will be the same for all Viennese from March 2022 and will be 10 euros per month. You can purchase the parking permit for a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 24 months. The revenue from the parking permit will be used to finance the expansion of the public transport system.
  • For the issuance of the parking permit, an additional one-time administrative fee is charged. This fee is reduced for online applications:
    • Administrative fee for a personal application at the municipal district office: 50 Euro
    • Administrative fee for an online application with citizen card/mobile phone signature: 39,30 Euro
    • Administrative fee for an online application without citizen card/mobile phone signature: 45 Euro
• What happens to my existing parking permit?
  • Parking permits purchased before March 2022 will continue to be valid until the regular expiration date and will also be recognized for the new validity periods and zones. After the old parking permit expires, a new parking permit will be issued that is adjusted to the new times and rates.
  • Outer districts 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 19: In these areas, the car may be parked in the short-term parking zone after 7 p.m. even with the old parking sticker.
  • Outer districts, where a spatial expansion (Simmering and Penzing) or minor adjustments are made: Current parking permit stickers also apply to the newly added districts.

However, the entire federal capital now becoming a short-term parking zone as of March 1 poses major challenges for many companies.

However, the fact that the entire federal capital will now become a short-term parking zone as of March 1 poses major challenges for many companies.

"Our company with 18 locations in Vienna has 160 employees with working hours that are all beyond all public transport schedules. As a result, a large number of commuters rely on their cars to get to work," Wolfgang Maurer explained to the Chamber of Commerce (WKO). Maurer runs the Bäckerei Schwarz, a traditional bakery founded in 1903, together with his wife Gertraud and sons Thomas and Andreas. The handling of the coworkers with the new regulations is still completely open, so Maurer. The company's own fleet of more than 15 delivery and service vehicles is used in highly different ways by management and employees in the city area, he said. "The application of exemptions will be a huge additional administrative and cost burden," Maurer fears.

Problem for enterprises was not considered

Using the example of the Schwarz bakery, the Chamber of Commerce (WKO) criticizes the fact that the challenges faced by businesses were not taken into account in the new parking regulations.

What was not considered in the area-wide parking management is that it actually causes what it should avoid - namely more traffic, congestion and higher CO2 emissions, the Chamber of Commerce is convinced.

"Bakeries in particular already operate at times when most public transport is still in the garages. They are not an alternative for employees and certainly not for deliveries in business."

Also, many businesses can't even park their company cars in their home district. That's partly because heavy trucks are banned from parking at night. And it is very unlikely that the driver will find a 12-meter parking space in the 8th district, for example, that is 25 meters away from residential buildings, says Sertic.

Empty kilometers massively increase CO2 emissions

On the other hand, he says, it is often much more economical to give the company car to the driver to take home in the evening.

This not only saves on empty runs, but also on emissions, because it would eliminate the need to commute twice with the company car to the job site. And in logistics, it is ultimately a matter of driving as few empty kilometers as possible, emphasizes the Chamber of Commerce.

This affects many sectors, such as plumbers, towing services, small hauliers or the furniture and electrical trade, but also driving schools and transport for the disabled.

Vienna Chamber of Commerce demands parking card+ for businesses

For this reason, the Vienna Chamber of Commerce has presented the concept of the "Parkkarte+" to the city. "This allows businesses to park their company cars in another district for an additional fee," explains the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. This service card+ could be given to all motor vehicles suitable for transporting goods, such as station wagons or trucks. The installer could thus load his vehicle in the evening at the company location, park it overnight at his home and drive directly from his home to the customer in the vicinity the next day without losing any time.

WKW Vienna Chamber of Commerce