Standoff over issuing of multiple parking tickets in Budapest

Budapest's largest parking company Central Parkoló Kft, which operates in seven districts, continues to issue multiple fines for the same offense, despite a ruling by the city's public administration office that the practice is illegal.

According to news portal stop.hu, employees of the company routinely will return every hour and place new parking tickets - often called "mikuláscsomag," as the paper tickets' red plastic covering makes them resemble the packages of candies given to children on Hungary's St. Nicholas day - on the windshields of cars that have violated local parking regulations.

The public administration office decided in September that this practice was illegal, noting that it was akin to slapping the drivers of speeding cars with a number of tickets equal to the number of police cameras their infraction was recorded on.

But while the office gave a 60-day deadline to the Committee of the Parking Association of Budapest Governments - the association of the seven districts contracted with Centrum - to stop the practice, the committee disagreed, and declined to order Centrum to halt multiple ticketing.

As a result, the public administration office is considering court action.

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