Can you be fined for stopping in a white space?

Can you be fined for stopping in a white space?

I parked in a white parking space while waiting for my wife to finish shopping. No more than five minutes after I arrived, an agent from the car park foundation demanded that I take a ticket, threatening to fine me if I didn't comply. Is it an offence to stop for a few minutes in a parking space without paying? Would the situation be the same if I had paid in a parallel street and still had a "balance" of unused minutes?

C. Geneva

Article 48 of the Ordinance on Road Signs and Signals (OSR) stipulates that motor vehicles may only be parked in spaces displaying the "parking against payment" sign (a blue rectangular sign with a parking meter design surmounted by a "P") if payment has been made.

As soon as your vehicle is parked, payment is due and failure to comply will result in a fine of CHF 40 if the offence lasts less than two hours.

However, Article 19 of the Ordinance on Road Traffic Regulations (ORR) defines vehicle parking as parking that is not used solely to allow passengers to board or alight or to load or unload goods. Stopping to wait for someone for a few minutes is therefore considered to be parking.

However, it is possible to use the same ticket or the same payment made by telephone in another white zone of equivalent, longer or shorter duration, as long as the total authorised duration is not exceeded, either by the ticket or the parking zone. Some white zones are limited to 30 minutes, others to 60 minutes and some to 90 minutes. So even if you have a balance of 80 minutes left, you cannot park for more than 30 minutes in a zone limited to this time. It should be noted that such a manoeuvre is only possible within the city of Geneva, as rates are not identical in all communes.

Parking in a paying car park while waiting for your sweetheart is therefore likely to increase the cost of your shopping trip by a few francs or a little more if you don't obey the instructions of the police...