New Protests against Rise in Vignette Stickers' Prices Held in Bulgaria

Protesting drivers tried to stage a blockade of the Struma motorway near Blagoevgrad, Southwestern Bulgaria, December 05, 2015. Photo BGNES

Bulgarian citizens took to the streets on  Saturday to demonstrate against plans to rise prices for motorway vignette stickers.

Protests were held in several towns and cities such as Burgas, Varna, Vidin, Ruse, Sliven, Blagoevgrad, and Pazardzhik, with Burgas demonstrators severely disrupting traffic.

Bulgaria's government announced in November it would increase the price, saying it would set aside the additional revenues for road maintenance and repairs.

This is the second protest against plans to raise prices of vignette stickers, after many drivers gathered in Bulgaria's big cities last Saturday.

Some of them had placed "Porsche Cayenne" signs on their vehicles - a reference to remarks by Prime Minister Boyko Borisov and Regional Development Minister Lilyana Pavlova, who after the first protest said only Porsche drivers (meaning "wealthy people") were taking part in the demonstrations.

Motor vehicles traveling on Bulgaria’s motorways and first-class roads must have a vignette sticker attached to the windshield. The price in force until now was set in 2008 and hasn’t been changed since.

The price of one-week vignettes for passenger cars is set to rise to BGN 15 from BGN 10 under the government's decision. One-week stickers will cost BGN 30, an increase from BGN 25 now, while one-year vignettes will cost BGN 97 versus BGN 67 now.

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