ZTL Palermo (February 2019)
Jan 18, 2019, 7:43 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Paris, France
Programs: Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 760
ZTL Palermo (February 2019)
Ciao a tutti.
I did a search on the forums but it seems this topic has not been discussed before.
We are doing a 12-day road-trip in Sicily in a few weeks. Picking up and dropping off the rented car at Sixt at PMO Airport, while I would have preferred to leave the car before entering the city of Palermo, it is considerably cheaper to keep it until the end of our trip. For our last night in Palermo we are booked at the Eurostar Centrale on Via Vittorio Emanuele, which is inside the restricted traffic area (ZTL). I don't know about the Palermo ZTL, but the one in Rome has some automated "gates" (varchi) where a camera checks the car plate to see whether it has a pass, and otherwise it issues the fine.
The Palermo Mobilita' website states that " for clients of economic activities (e.g. hotels) inside the ZTL, the owners of the aziende can proceed to register the client's car and issue a temporary pass". My question is whether I should get the temporary pass before getting to the city or if it's OK to proceed to register the car upon checking-in at the hotel.
Otherwise the ZTL daily pass costs 5 euros -- I'd rather buy one than argue with a car-rental company (over the Atlantic!) over a traffic ticket.
Thanks in advance!
I did a search on the forums but it seems this topic has not been discussed before.
We are doing a 12-day road-trip in Sicily in a few weeks. Picking up and dropping off the rented car at Sixt at PMO Airport, while I would have preferred to leave the car before entering the city of Palermo, it is considerably cheaper to keep it until the end of our trip. For our last night in Palermo we are booked at the Eurostar Centrale on Via Vittorio Emanuele, which is inside the restricted traffic area (ZTL). I don't know about the Palermo ZTL, but the one in Rome has some automated "gates" (varchi) where a camera checks the car plate to see whether it has a pass, and otherwise it issues the fine.
The Palermo Mobilita' website states that " for clients of economic activities (e.g. hotels) inside the ZTL, the owners of the aziende can proceed to register the client's car and issue a temporary pass". My question is whether I should get the temporary pass before getting to the city or if it's OK to proceed to register the car upon checking-in at the hotel.
Otherwise the ZTL daily pass costs 5 euros -- I'd rather buy one than argue with a car-rental company (over the Atlantic!) over a traffic ticket.
Thanks in advance!
Jan 21, 2019, 12:51 am
#2
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: AMS/RTM
Posts: 2,827
I'd be very surprised the ZTL would have a system of "enter today pay tomorrow". And even if it did, I wouldn't trust it.
Feb 25, 2019, 4:08 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: Paris, France
Programs: Flying Blue Gold
Posts: 760
After a fantastic 2 weeks in Sicily, I shall answer to myself in case someone is in the same situation:
The hotels inside the ZTL issue a pass upon check in. You give them your car’s registration plate and they will issue the permit online on the spot. This pass covers the day of check in and the day of check out. If you need to use your car in between, you will need to get another 5-Euro “pass giornaliero”, which can be bought online or at any tabacchi.
In order to access the ZTL on check in day we had to show our printed hotel reservation to a police officer who was standing just at the entrance of the ZTL. Once he saw the reservation, he was fine and let us go. Overall it was a pretty simple process.
Driving in Palermo is not as nightmarish as I had thought, overall it was similar to Buenos Aires but with narrower streets, although if you can avoid it, you best do. We only entered with the car because we were on a road-trip across the island and it was cheaper to keep the car for an extra day and leave it at the airport than to return it in the city.
The hotels inside the ZTL issue a pass upon check in. You give them your car’s registration plate and they will issue the permit online on the spot. This pass covers the day of check in and the day of check out. If you need to use your car in between, you will need to get another 5-Euro “pass giornaliero”, which can be bought online or at any tabacchi.
In order to access the ZTL on check in day we had to show our printed hotel reservation to a police officer who was standing just at the entrance of the ZTL. Once he saw the reservation, he was fine and let us go. Overall it was a pretty simple process.
Driving in Palermo is not as nightmarish as I had thought, overall it was similar to Buenos Aires but with narrower streets, although if you can avoid it, you best do. We only entered with the car because we were on a road-trip across the island and it was cheaper to keep the car for an extra day and leave it at the airport than to return it in the city.