Around the car

710 francs for parking in the blue zone?

Price watchdog takes action against parking rip-offs

In many cities, parking is expensive fun. But how high can parking fees be? To answer this question, price supervisor Stefan Meierhans did the math. In short, residents without their own parking space usually pay themselves silly.

You drive a car? Because you need it to get to work. To take your child to daycare. Or on weekends - together with many friends - to the soccer game of your daughter? Quite normal. But the parking spaces in the blue zone are outrageously expensive.

Now the price supervisor is intervening. That pleases the car drivers who are being fleeced! Stefan Meierhans (55) has calculated the land costs, production costs and management costs of a parking space. A part of these costs should be borne by the short- and long-term parkers. But how much is too much? Meierhans has surveyed the fees for street parking in all Swiss cities with a population of 20,000 or more: On the one hand for parking machines (white zone), on the other hand for parking cards for visitors (blue zone).

"From my point of view, there should be no profit in fees as a matter of principle," Meierhans says. "My new model shows that such high fees cannot be justified given the costs. That's why I believe cities should lower prices." He has developed a cost model that allows the determination of an appropriate price for parking permits based on the cost recovery principle.

According to the price supervisor's new cost model, annual subscriptions of more than 400 francs are generally too high for long-term parkers, regardless of whether these fees are charged in a small town or an expensive and large city like Zurich. Blue or white zone parking spaces are located on public land that already belongs to the general public anyway. For this reason alone, they cannot be compared with the significantly more expensive private underground parking spaces.

710 francs for a space in the blue zone

Above all, too high fees for public parking spaces are anti-social, Meierhans criticizes. "Rich people have a garage or a parking space themselves. Holders of residents' parking permits are mostly people who work shifts or in special professions and have a smaller wallet," he continues. That's why he strongly advises authorities to reconsider their parking fees.

Meierhans does not rule out approaching cities with very high prices again himself. These cities include all those that charge more than 400 francs a year for a permanent public parking space. For example, Lausanne with 500 francs, Bern with 492 francs and Winterthur with an almost outrageous 710 francs. Zurich also wants to increase the fees from 300 to 540 francs.

Basic information about parking in Switzerland:

myswissalps.com

Parking in Swiss villages and towns
Parking in villages and smaller towns is usually easy. However, in the city centers of larger cities, the traffic situation can be complex. There are narrow streets, many one-way streets and sometimes traffic jams - and there are relatively few parking spaces. So check in advance which parking options are best for your stay. Alternatively, if you want to visit larger city centers, you can drive to a smaller city, park your car at the P+Rail station there, and travel on by train.

Free parking
Free parking is mostly available in cities outside the center and in villages. Depending on shopping centers, hotel parking lots (for guests only) or simply on the street, there are individual rules. Sometimes there are time limits and a parking disc is required by law. Such parking discs are available in the place of residence with the corresponding long-term parking such as blue zones or even white zones.

Parking in blue zones with a parking disc
Blue parking zones are marked with blue street parking spaces and street signs. You can park there for free if you use a parking disc. The use of a disc is obligatory. Make sure you have a valid parking disc placed in your car behind the window. It must be blue and at least 11 cm wide and 15 cm high. Other variants are invalid. The disc can also be used in other countries, such as Germany. A disc should be present in rental cars.

How to use parking discs in Switzerland:

• Enter the arrival time: Turn the disc to the nearest half hour. For example: If you arrive at 10:10, turn the parking disc to 10:30.
• Place the disc on the dashboard and make sure it is clearly visible from the outside.
• Leave no later than one hour after the stated arrival time. In this example, you should leave at 11:30. Depending on the lakation you can park for different times.

PS: You may not return to your car to change your arrival time to park longer.

Paid parking   
Paid parking is very common in Switzerland, especially near popular places like train stations, hotels and city centers. Even hotel guests often have to pay for a parking space separately: Expect to pay CHF 10 to 50 per day. Parking in major cities is quite expensive: up to CHF 4 per hour.There are several payment options:

• Hotel guests can pay their parking costs at check-out.
• There are ticket machines in parking garages. Before you leave, enter your parking ticket that you received when you entered. You can pay by cash or debit or credit card.
• You will find parking meters in many parking lots. The older versions require Swiss coins. However, many are digital. You enter the number of your parking space and pay either in cash or by debit/credit card.

In more and more parking lots, you can use an app to pay, which is linked to your credit card or bank account. You enter your parking space and parking duration. Examples of parking apps used in Switzerland are Park Now, ParkingPay, EasyPark, SEPP Parking and TWINT.

Parking at train stations
There are (often paid) parking spaces at 550 SBB stations. You can choose a location in advance and pay by credit card via the SBB website or with the SBB P+Rail app. You can either buy day passes or pay per hour. Note that many, but not yet all, rail parking spaces are included in the SBB app and that prepayment does not guarantee that a parking space will actually be available. Your payment is therefore not a reservation. Monthly or annual subscriptions for specific stations are also available. You must purchase these at the station's ticket counter.

blick.ch

Blue zone, white fields, yellow lines

The parking guide
Did you know that a car parked outside the parking zone can cost you a 1250 franc fine? BLICK reveals how to park correctly in which zones! And where it is better not to park.
White zone means less and less "as long as you want": More and more communities now have a parking regime.
At parking meters, the case is clear in the White Zone: the regulations are always on the machine or signs.
Yellow fields are privately owned. Here it is necessary to observe the signalization - for example "customers" or "visitors".
You arrive at the supposedly correctly parked car - and are annoyed: 40 or more francs fine! Let's be honest: Who knows whether tires are allowed to touch the parking space line or that there is a lunch break extension in the Blue Zone?
And what do crossed yellow lines mean? The "BLICK" parking guide explains.

White fields are often deceptive
It's clear on parking meters: maximum duration, price and free periods are written on them. And if the machine is defective? Insert the parking disc and observe the maximum duration. It's tricky where there are none: A white space does not mean "free parking". Permanent parking on public property requires a permit. The only difference is that in the past, virtually all municipalities dispensed with permits. Today, however, even rural communities have parking regulations.

In most cases, permanent and night-time parkers require a permit, while short-term parkers (such as those at freeway service areas) need a parking disc. So far, so unclear: the regulations vary enormously and are often poorly signaled. Sometimes there is only a sign for the parking disc obligation at the entrance of the village (e.g. "maximum six hours") - which is promptly overlooked. At night, rules such as "without permission twice a month" may apply - which you only find out on the municipality's website. Promptly the weekend visitor gets a fine.

Why aren't white spaces requiring a parking permit blue? Because the Blue Zone - see below - is regulated uniformly: If the fields were blue, the regulations of the Blue Zone would apply.

Our tip: Ask residents and watch out for permits or parking discs in other cars. Or surf: Usually there are also permits online. If in doubt, use the parking disc, which reduces the probability of a fine in the first hours.

The Blue Zone confuses
The Blue Zone, which is standardized throughout Switzerland, also has pitfalls and a lunch break rule that almost no one knows. From 7 p.m. to 7:59 a.m. and on Sundays and equivalent holidays, parking is unlimited (unless otherwise indicated, of course). From Monday to Saturday from 8 a.m. to 6:59 p.m., depending on the time of arrival, one may park for one hour, up to a maximum of 89 minutes with a parking disc.
An important, surprisingly often unknown exception is the lunch break extension: those arriving from 11:30 to 13:29 are allowed to stay until 14:30!
By the way, the parking disc is often set incorrectly - see below.

On the line costs
Whether white or blue: In itself, the whole car must be in the field, neither bumper nor exterior mirrors may protrude beyond it. "By itself" because: Because of growing cars is usually (not always!) tolerated if only the wheels are inside. Attention: If the tires are on instead of inside the line, this is already considered as "outside"!
Absurd, but true: "Inside the line" is also mandatory if the car is simply too big or you could not get out if the wheels are correctly inside. Then you have to maneuver or look for another parking place.
How much can it cost if the wheels are parked, for example, a hand's width outside the line? 1250 francs! This is what happened to a resident of Zurich who parked for more than ten hours - because then it does not cost 40, 60 or 100 francs depending on the duration, but is reported. After three days, the fine was 700 francs plus 550 francs in fees.

Setting the parking disc correctly
Parking time is often wasted by incorrectly setting the parking disc. The "pointer" should be set to the half-hour or hour dash following the arrival. Those arriving from minute 00 to 29 set to the following half-hour mark, and those arriving from minute 30 to 59 set to the following hour mark. The parking disc must be clearly visible.
If you do not use an official disc, you may be fined. Advertising on the front or a parking disc that is too small (min. 11 cm wide and 15 cm high) can cost 40 francs.
If you only re-park your car in the Blue Zone after the time has expired instead of driving away and leaving the Blue Zone, you will be fined in the same way as for readjusting the parking disc: 40 francs.

Yellow usually means yes
Yellow zigzags (e.g. public transport stops), yellow lines interrupted by crosses and yellow fields with yellow diagonal crosses (e.g. cab stands) are called: No parking! Here you may legally stop, i.e. let people get on and off or load and unload, as long as you do not obstruct anyone. But: Parking is taboo - and this has nothing to do with the duration. If you wait for someone in the no-parking zone, march away with the unloaded goods or walk away from the car, you are parking.
Neither stopping nor parking is allowed in case of continuous yellow lines at the edge. And yellow fields without a cross? These are private, here the signalization is valid (e.g. "customers").

Left only in exceptional cases
Parking (and stopping) is usually on the right side. Parking on the left (i.e. on the opposite side) is only allowed in exceptional cases: in one-way streets, when there is a stopping or parking ban on the right or when there is a streetcar track on the right, and in narrow streets with little traffic. In all other cases you have to turn around first, because driving away from the opposite side is dangerous.

Hazard warning lights additional buses
It may be that the hazard warning lights promote tolerance in the case of intentional wrong parking or illegal stopping - message "Only briefly!". But it is not permitted and can result in an additional 40 franc fine.

Survey among motorists

What bugs us about parking
Switzerland is a special case even when it comes to parking. According to a survey conducted by the app Easypark across Europe, we are the only ones who are annoyed by the short parking time allowed. We pay parking fines more often - and, to be on the safe side, often even spend more than we should.

According to a survey by Easypark, drivers across Europe are particularly annoyed by the search for spaces and narrow parking spaces.
Looking for a parking space, maneuvering in, barely being able to get out because of the "stupid parker" next door, paying a small fortune (in Zurich, for example, 9.50 Fr. for 3 hours) and later collecting a fine for three minutes: Parking sucks.But what sucks the most? The Swedish parking app provider Easypark wanted to know exactly and had Yougov survey over 16,000 people in 14 European countries - including Switzerland and its neighboring countries.

Mostly three to ten minutes of searching
Across Europe, all respondents were particularly annoyed by the search for a parking space and narrow parking spaces. France is a special case: only here does the fact that people have to pay for parking spaces at all come out on top. According to the survey, the search for a parking space in Switzerland takes three to ten minutes in about half of the cases, and even longer for ten percent. Costs per month? 42 percent spend up to ten francs per month on parking in this country, and another 30 percent between ten and 50 francs.In third place among the most annoying parking nuisances in Germany, as in Austria, is the poor parking of other car drivers, while in Switzerland - the only country where this is in the top three - it is the limited parking time.

More fines in Switzerland
Probably also because of the closer monitoring. So it's not surprising that, according to the survey, parking fines are more frequent in Switzerland than elsewhere. In Switzerland, 48 percent of respondents say they receive a parking fine every two years, 18 percent annually or more often, and only 34 percent never. In Germany, for example, the never figure is 42 percent. Hard to believe: Out of fear of fines, 54 percent even say they deliberately put too much money in the parking meter from time to time as a precaution!In keeping with Easypark, the survey also shows that car drivers are happy about digital aids such as those in the Easypark app. The survey mentions the parking search function (available in Zurich, for example) or app features such as automated billing, payment by the minute, or remote parking time extension.By the way, the big Blick parking guide provides an overview of all parking rules.

Now the canton even has to pay the driver's lawyer!

Crazy parking dispute in Zurich
Success for a Zurich motorist who defended himself against a parking fine of 40 francs. The Federal Court has ruled that the canton must even pay him for his lawyer.

The parking fine was stuck under his windshield wiper in March 2020: 40 francs for missing parking tickets. On the same day, the man objected to the fine in writing and enclosed a valid parking ticket for the time in question.

It had rained very heavily that day. Perhaps that was why the parking ticket was not visible, he argued. The city police, however, did not want to hear about it and sent him three reminders in the months that followed.

When the penalty order came, he hired a lawyer.
The driver appealed against the fine twice during this period. Eleven months after the parking fine was issued, he finally received mail from the municipal court: When he received it, he consulted a lawyer. When he received it, he consulted a lawyer, who wrote a professional objection, after which the criminal proceedings were suddenly discontinued. The driver then demanded that the state pay for his lawyer.   
The Zurich High Court was against this. After all, this was a minor offense that did not even result in an entry in the criminal record. The case was by no means so complex that a lawyer would have been necessary, the high court said.

Federal court upholds motorist
The Federal Court, however, disagrees, according to the ruling published Friday. It was legitimate for the man to have hired a lawyer. He had to assume that his options as a layman had been exhausted.The matter now goes back to the Zurich High Court. This must decide how much money from the state treasury the man receives for his lawyer. (SDA)Judgment 6B_1472/2021