City of Bonn sticks to parking tickets Ukrainians without an environmental badge must continue to pay

Bonn · The city of Bonn does not differentiate between country codes when issuing tickets for cars with no environmental badge or vehicles illegally parked in a residents only parking zone. This has also affected refugees from Ukraine. Fines can be up to 100 euros.

 The City of Bonn does not discriminate between parking tickets, no matter where the vehicle comes from.

The City of Bonn does not discriminate between parking tickets, no matter where the vehicle comes from.

Foto: Benjamin Westhoff

The City of Bonn stands by its position that a general waiver of parking tickets for cars with Ukrainian licence plates is not possible, even for a transitional period. Anyone who parks illegally in a residents' parking area or who does not have an environmental badge must expect to find a parking ticket on their windshield.

As reported, this practice meets with incomprehension from the Bonn FDP. The Liberals are also not satisfied with the information that the city's public order service will consider individual cases after consulting the office responsible for fines. According to FDP traffic politician Alessandro Balan, demanding that refugees should go to the responsible office after receiving a parking ticket is unrealistic, not least because of the language barrier.

"We cannot generally dispense with warnings for motor vehicles with Ukrainian licence plates, as such a blanket regulation would not be appropriate," is the city's stance. Deputy city spokesman Marc Hoffmann explains: "Of course, the city administration takes into account the special situation of the refugees. Therefore, the warning should please be understood as a hint to contact the city administration in order to be able to clarify the issue." Violations of residents' parking rules cost between 10 and 50 euros, depending on the situation, and a fine of 100 euros is levied for a vehicle with no environmental badge.

The city has already started issuing environmental badges for vehicles belonging to Ukrainian refugees. Temporary exemptions can be made for residents' parking permits if the person concerned is registered in a zone. "In future, when people register at the service centre, they will be asked if they need any of these documents, and the responsible offices of the city administration will be contacted to simplify the procedure," Hoffmann announced.

Further formalities to follow

The Bürger Bund Bonn (BBB) foresees more formalities for refugees, for example, they will need to re-register their cars, and their Ukrainian driving licence could expire. "As far as the BBB is concerned, fines for illegal parking or missing environmental badges are the least of their worries in view of the laws about German registration, driving licences, licensing and traffic laws," says city councillor Johannes Schott. Complaining about the way the city is regulating things and demanding exceptions will in time lead to social discord, according to the BBB.

Original article: Bettina Köhl

Translation: Jean Lennox

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