Digital Wallet Transport Cards Coming to Sofia Alongside New Parking Proposals

This week, Sofia Mayor Vasil Terziev, along with Municipal Council Chairman Tsvetomir Petrov and councilors from “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” - Simeon Stavrev, Greti Stefanova, Dimitar Dimitrov and Dimitar Petrov - submitted a report proposing changes to parking regulations in the capital.

The initiative follows the largest public survey conducted on the issue to date, with 22,230 citizens from across Sofia taking part. According to Municipal Councilor Simeon Stavrev, the results provide a detailed picture of the difficulties residents face and their expectations for improvements.

Findings from the survey highlight several pressing concerns. The most common problem is the lack of parking spaces, forcing people either to circle in search of a spot or park at considerable distance from their homes. Many residents living in the blue zone expressed a wish for its operation to extend to Sundays. A large majority – 80% – believe that service subscriptions should be restricted, while nearly half of the participants supported the creation of a paid parking zone in areas such as “Banishora,” neighborhoods south of Todor Kableshkov Boulevard, and in “Reduta,” “Geo Milev,” “Iztok” and “Izgrev.” In addition, in several of the green subzones like the Center, “Oborishte,” “Ivan Vazov” and “Lozenets,” there is growing demand for higher parking fees as a way to ease congestion.

According to the survey results, in both the blue and green zones more than half of respondents said they need over ten minutes to park. Outside the central areas, 56% spend more than five minutes looking for a spot. The core issues for residents remain the lack of designated parking and insufficient infrastructure near their homes. As Stavrev explained, many respondents indicated they would accept higher fees provided this guaranteed them easier access to spaces.

At present, the Urban Mobility Center (UMC) generates 42 million leva annually from parking. Stavrev noted that if the proposed measures are approved, this revenue could reach 104 million leva. He also underlined a key financial change in the report: instead of the UMC retaining all parking revenue, 60% would be allocated directly to the Sofia Municipality for investment in infrastructure and parking projects.

Alongside these proposals, the UMC is preparing new digital services. Within months, the organization plans to introduce the option of storing public transport tickets and cards directly in mobile phone wallets, eliminating the need for plastic cards. Validators across the network will be upgraded to recognize the new system, with the ability to validate a virtual card even when a phone’s battery is empty.

Technically, the platform is nearly ready. A change to the municipal ordinance is pending, after which the service could be launched. Users will be able to purchase cards digitally with only a few clicks, and the phone will automatically notify them before expiry, offering quick renewal and payment via a bank card linked to the wallet.

Stavrev also emphasized the recent decision of the Center for Urban Mobility to make its data accessible to citizens. Through the international GTFS standard, real-time information about public transport is now openly available.

Source: BNR