On Monday, the Prague City Council approved an ordinance amending the previous regulation on maximum prices for the forced towing of vehicles and their storage at the towing car park. The new regulation includes an updated price list. The increase in towing prices aims to boost the capacity of the towing service and thus reduce the number of incorrectly parked cars on the streets of the capital.
“We want to increase the capacity for enforced towing without the city having to bear additional costs for rule violations. That is why we have doubled the prices for towing and the required towing capacity. This measure should lead to better compliance and, in the long term, reduce the number of violations both in the city center and in the suburbs,” explained Deputy Mayor of Prague, Zdeněk Hřib.
The prices for towing have not been adjusted since 2013 and therefore no longer corresponded to actual costs. The difference had to be subsidized by the city, which ultimately came at the expense of honest drivers, who had to pay for the actions of reckless and dishonest drivers. With this ordinance, the city has the opportunity to gradually rectify this situation and correct the mistakes of previous city council officials.
Drivers of incorrectly parked vehicles will now pay a maximum of CZK 3,800 for a tow, up from the previous CZK 1,900. The new fee for canceled towing is CZK 2,500, compared to the previous CZK 1,250. Return transport now costs CZK 7,000, up from CZK 3,800. Other items on the price list remain unchanged.
The City Council’s decision also includes a request to the Prague Capital City Administration (Správa služeb hlavního města Prahy) to ask towing services to significantly increase their annual towing capacity.
“The administration of the City of Prague will increase towing capacity to at least 25,000 vehicles per year,” said Deputy Mayor Zdeněk Hřib, adding, “We have also asked for a quantification of the specific costs associated with towing vehicles parked in the wrong place. Additionally, anonymized data on individual towing operations and their locations will be transmitted to the municipal data platform Golemio to allow monitoring based on this data. The Ministry of Transport will also produce an analysis of how neighborhoods and their organizations can be effectively involved in the process of enforced towing on a voluntary basis.”
