Official: Double Parking Fees and Expansion of the Blue and Green Zones in Sofia

With 35 votes in favour, the Sofia City Council on November 13 approved the controversial parking reform. Prices for paid parking will double, and the coverage of the blue and green zones will expand. Parking in the blue zone will cost €2 per hour, while parking in the green zone will cost €1 per hour.

Low-Emission Measures: From 1 December, a low-emission zone comes into effect in Sofia.

A weekend zone will also be introduced in part of Bankya residential district, operating only on Saturdays and Sundays, at a rate of €0.50 per hour. Blue and green zone prices will take effect from 5 January 2026.

Photos by BGNES

All parking revenue paid by residents in the blue and green zones will be fully reinvested in their neighbourhoods for parking spaces, puddle-prone areas, street repairs, lighting, pavements, and other local improvements, according to the municipality. Half of the funds will be managed directly by district mayors, while the other half will be administered by the Mayor of Sofia.

Blue Zone (from 5 January 2026): Macedonia Square + Russian Monument, Kriva Reka, Ivan Vazov, the lower part of Lozenets between the Canal and Sveti Naum, the lower part of Yavorov, and Oborishte between Sitnyakovo and the Canal.

Green Zone: Banishora, Lagera, and the southern neighbourhoods up to Todor Kableshkov Blvd, large parts of the Slatina district (Reduta and Geo Milev), Iztok, Izgrev, Dianabad, part of Studentski Grad (as proposed by district mayor Petko Goranov), and part of Poduyane (as proposed by district mayor Kristian Hristov).

The introduction of the new green zones will be phased in throughout 2026. Students will be able to obtain a vignette sticker in Students' City.

Some of the current subzones will be consolidated into larger zones to provide residents with more parking opportunities.

Operating hours:

Blue Zone: Monday to Sunday, 9:00 – 21:00.
Green Zone: Monday to Saturday, 9:00 – 21:00.

The Blue Zone will also operate on public holidays. Street signs will be equipped with QR codes or links for alternative payment methods, other than SMS – via Sofia Plus, the Sofia Urban Mobility Center website, etc.

Parking time in the Blue Zone increases from 2 to 3 hours. Parking time in the Green Zone remains 4 hours. Paper tickets will be phased out from mid-2026, so parking with an SMS will remain the only option.

The annual fee for residents’ first vehicle in the blue parking zone will be €150, or €15 per month. The fee for a second vehicle will be double. In the green zone, the annual charge for the first vehicle will be €100, or €10 per month, with the fee for a second vehicle again doubled. Parking in the weekend zone will remain free for residents. These rates for the blue and green zones will come into effect on 5 January 2026.

The annual permit for business vehicles will cost €800 in the blue zone and €500 in the green zone, while outside these zones the fee will be €255. The charge for a 24-hour business permit will be double. Business permits will be limited to a maximum of 10% of all parking spaces within a given subzone.

All valid local parking permits will remain valid until their expiry date, with no additional fees required.

The fine for illegal parking (“the clamp”) will be €30, while the tow-away fee will be €75.

Electric vehicles will retain the privilege of parking throughout the full operating hours of the parking zones. The first three hours will remain free, with any subsequent hours charged at the standard rate. From 1 January 2027, electric vehicles will be subject to the same local parking rules as all other residents, including the requirement to obtain an annual or monthly permit at the standard rate.