Almaty deputies propose ending free parking for electric vehicles

Deputies in Almaty's city council are questioning the continued free parking for electric vehicles, a perk intended to encourage eco-friendly transport. One deputy, Beibit Apsenbetov, argued that electric cars take up parking space just like conventional vehicles and should therefore be charged. He suggested that incentives should focus on other areas, like access to green zones, rather than parking fees.

Apsenbetov also raised concerns about the growing number of electric vehicles potentially creating an additional burden on the city budget. Yerzhan Dikhanbaev, head of the Department of Traffic Management and Passenger Transport, defended the current policy, explaining it was implemented to promote the adoption of environmentally friendly vehicles. He noted that electric cars currently represent a small fraction of the city's total vehicle population.

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As an object that takes up space, an electric vehicle is no different from a regular car. Therefore, everyone should pay. Incentives for electric vehicles should apply to entering green zones or in other cases, but not for parking fees. Furthermore, their numbers will grow every year, creating an additional burden on the budget.

Almaty has approximately 730,000 registered vehicles, with only about 17,000 being electric. Nationwide, Kazakhstan has around 10,000 electric vehicles as of June 1, 2024. Almaty accounts for 62 percent of the country's "green" fleet. The city's current benefits for electric vehicles include exemption from annual vehicle tax and a zero-rate recycling fee, in addition to parking privileges. However, authorities have not ruled out revising the parking policy in the future as the number of electric cars increases.

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I completely agree with you. Electric vehicles fall under a privileged category. This measure was adopted to encourage citizens to purchase electric vehicles and switch to environmentally friendly transport.