Traffic and parking difficulties/ DPSHTRR: 1/3 of vehicles across the country registered in the capital

Traffic on the streets of Tirana is getting heavier by the day, while finding a parking space has become more difficult and undoubtedly more expensive than ever.

The number of people who own a car in the capital has increased significantly.

According to data from the General Directorate of Road Transport Services (DPSHTRR), at the end of 2024, there were 340 thousand vehicles registered in Tirana, or one third of all vehicles registered in the country.

In relation to the population of the municipality of Tirana, which according to the new INSTAT census was around 750 thousand inhabitants as a prefecture and 600 thousand as a municipality, it results that now every two inhabitants has a vehicle in Tirana, with around 500-550 vehicles per 1 thousand inhabitants.

This figure is much higher than the country's average of around 300 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants (among the lowest in Europe after Turkey and North Macedonia) and in line with the European Union average, which according to Eurostat is 550 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants.

In 2024 alone, according to the DPSHTRR, 41.1 thousand vehicles were registered for the first time in Tirana, or 41% of all vehicles registered in the country (99.4 thousand in total). In addition to vehicles registered in Tirana, cars from other districts also enter the capital, adding to traffic congestion every day.

By June 2024, 914 thousand vehicles were registered in the country (of which 738 thousand were cars). In the last two years, the number of vehicles registered in the country has increased significantly due to massive imports from South Korea, which sells vehicles at economic prices. According to the DPSHTRR, in 2024, 18.8 thousand vehicles originating from South Korea were registered for the first time, becoming the largest importing country, with 19% of the total.

Lots of buildings and cars, but few infrastructure solutions

Since 2018, when the construction boom in the capital began, until 2024, the Municipality of Tirana has provided an average of 1.25 million square meters of residential construction per year. In 2024, a new record was set, with 1.8 million square meters of residential construction, which will increase in the following years. For the same period (2018-2024), the Municipality has collected an amount of 500 million euros from the infrastructure impact tax for new construction.

The boom in construction that has increased the density in Tirana, traffic, the number of vehicles in circulation, and the reduction of parking spaces has been met with little improvement in infrastructure, the expansion of internal city roads, and especially public transportation.

In the absence of efficient public transportation, many residents are forced to commute by car every day. A previous Monitor survey found that 84% of respondents from the capital responded that they think the public transportation infrastructure in their city is poor or very poor.

Improving public transportation is also the main suggestion of those surveyed by Monitor, which would contribute to reducing traffic in the capital, followed by widening roads and building parking lots in the suburbs./Monitor