Moscow to Trial Free Parking Scheme

By The Moscow Times

April 22, 2014

City Hall is to trial free parking in central Moscow on Sundays and public holidays from May 1 until the end of the year, Deputy Mayor Maxim Liksutov said Tuesday.

The local government is not yet planning to introduce the scheme on Saturdays, when traffic levels are still relatively high, Liksutov said, Itar-Tass reported.

Motorists who are unaware of the scheme and try to pay for parking on designated free-parking days will not be charged.

Paid-parking was first introduced to the city center in late 2012 in a bid to help tackle congestion.

It was expanded up to the borders of the downtown Boulevard Ring last June, and widened to the Garden Ring at the end of December.

Moscow authorities announced in January that they were planning to introduce paid-parking zones within the Third Ring Road, mostly around offices, shopping centers and markets.

The cost of paid parking within the Boulevard Ring currently stands at 80 rubles ($2.5) per hour, with motorists paying 60 rubles per hour to park within the Garden Ring.

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