According to Deputy Mayor Kristjan Järvan (Isamaa), the goal of the change is to ensure the fair treatment of vehicle owners.

"At a time when the new car tax enters into effect, it's difficult to justify why residents of other local governments should [be able to] park their electric vehicles in the city center for free," Järvan said.

"I believe that residents of Tallinn's surrounding areas can still afford parking for their electric vehicles here," he added.

Under the city's current EV parking regulations, all zero-emission vehicles are exempt from parking fees in Tallinn's city center parking zone.

If approved by Tallinn City Council, changes to the regulations would limit this free parking to only electric vehicles whose owners or responsible users are registered as residents of Tallinn in the population register; EV owners from other local governments would no longer qualify for the exemption.

The update is slated to take effect on July 1 next year.

The number of electric vehicles has increased rapidly in recent years, the city noted. At the time the EV parking fee exemption was introduced, on December 31, 2015, there were just 1,115 electric vehicles in Estonia.

As of November 1, 2024, there are more than 7,800 EVs registered in Estonia – marking a sevenfold increase – and 69 percent of these are located in Harju County.

The number of public parking spaces in the Estonian capital, meanwhile, has remained practically unchanged.

The Tallinn region's Sustainable Urban Mobility Strategy 2035 prioritizes pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users, aiming to promote active and environmentally friendly transport.

The capital city's paid parking area is divided into four zones: city center, downtown, Old Town and Pirita (where parking fees apply only from May 15-September 15). The city center is Tallinn's busiest traffic area with the best public transport connections, the city highlighted, adding that it also accounts for the largest part of Tallinn's public parking area.

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