City council in Bulgaria’s capital Sofia doubles parking fees, expands paid parking zones

Sofia city council voted on November 13 to double fees for parking in blue and green zones with effect from January 5 2026.

The price for parking in a blue zone will be two euro an hour and in a green zone, one euro an hour.

A weekend zone is being introduced in part of Bankya at the suggestion of the district mayor, only on Saturdays and Sundays. The price for it will be 50 euro cents an hour.

The parking fees paid by residents in the blue and green zones will be invested in their neighbourhoods for parking areas and other costs such as street repairs and lighting.

Half of the money will be spent directly by the district mayors, and the other half by the Sofia mayor.

Areas that will become blue zones include Makedoniya Square + Ruski Pametnik, Kriva Reka, Ivan Vazov, the lower part of Lozenets between the Canal and Sveti Naum, the lower part of Yavorov, Oborishte between Sitnyakovo and the Canal.

Areas that will become green zones include Banishora, Lagera and the southern neighbourhoods to Todor Kableshkov Blvd., a large part of the Slatina district (Reduta and Geo Milev), Iztok, Izgrev, Dianabad, part of Studentski Grad and part of the Poduyane district.

The introduction of the new green zones will take place in stages in 2026. Students will be able to get a vignette sticker in Studentski Grad.

Some of the current subzones are being consolidated into larger ones to provide residents with more parking options.

The working hours of the blue zone are from Monday to Sunday from 9am to 9pm . The working hours of the green zone are from Monday to Saturday from 9am to 9pm .

The blue zone will also operate on public holidays. Street signs will be equipped with a QR code or a link to alternative payment channels other than text messages.

The parking time in the blue zone is increased from two to three hours. The parking time in the green zone remains four hours. Paper tickets will be phased out from mid-2026 and the scheme of being able to park with SMS and then with a paper ticket will no longer be possible.

The price for residents in the blue zone for a first car becomes 150 euro a year or 15 euro per month, while the price for residents in the green zone for a first car becomes 100 euro a year or 10 euro a month.

Reserved paid parking will be 800 euro in the blue zone and 500 euro in the green zone. Outside the zone, 255 euro. Reserved paid parking is limited to a maximum of 10 per cent of all parking spaces in the specific subzone.

All valid local parking stickers are valid until their expiration date and no additional fees apply.

Removal of a bracket from a car will cost 30 euro and from the “spider” – the lorry that lifts illegally parked vehicles – 75 euro.

For electric vehicles, the first three hours of parking in a paid zone will be free of charge, while each subsequent hour until the end of the zone is paid at the standard rate.

The same rules for local parking now apply to electric vehicles as to all other residents – they will have to get an annual or monthly sticker at the standard price for everyone. This change will come into effect from January 1 2027.

(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)