Functioning paid parking zone before and during COVID-19 pandemic-case study on the example of a city in Poland

The constantly growing number of vehicles moving on the city's transport network causes traffic disruptions, lowering the level of road safety, as well as the problem of finding a vacant place to park the vehicle. The smallest number of parking spaces is in the city center area with many travel destinations. Therefore, more and more cities in Poland are introducing the paid parking zone (PPZ), which increases the availability of parking spaces for more drivers. The article aims to analyze the functioning of PPZ in Chorzow (Poland) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis was carried out based on the number of purchased parking tickets in particular months, days of the week, and periods of the day in 2019 and 2020. It can be concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic changed the communication behavior in terms of PPZ use, based on the analyses. The short period for which parking tickets were purchased in 2019 and 2020 indicates that charging fees for parking at PPZ in Chorzow contribute to the choosing of a short parking time and thus increase the availability of parking spaces for more drivers.