Application of a parking ticket system

Recent reports in the media have exposed large-scale corruption and irregularities in the city administration's parking management service as a result of mismanagement and the absence of transparency in its managerial activities. In the 1998/1999 fiscal year, the city administration's parking management service could only contribute Rp 6.2 billion (Kompas, July 20, 1999), while according to the Indonesian Consumers's Institute Foundation (YLKI), proceeds from parking in the city were estimated to amount to a total of Rp 126 billion. So, only six percent of the total estimated proceeds went into the coffers of the city administration, while the remaining 94 percent went into the pockets of parking attendants, head parking attendants, coordinators, collectors of parking contribution fees and even officials of the city administration's parking service.

Indeed, there are no clear rules to the city parking business game and I believe this condition is intentionally created so that nobody will find out where the money goes to. In this way, it is next to impossible to trace who receives what and how much.

In view of the above, allow me to urge the governor of Jakarta to introduce a parking ticket system, which is not to be applied to privately owned car parks, so that payment for parking services would not be handled in cash but with tickets. This system would enable the proceeds from parking activities to be accurately controlled because of the following:

1. Anybody owning a private car, which is not a truck or public bus, would be required to buy, say, a minimum of 200 tickets @ Rp 500 when he/she renews his/her plate number certificate (STNK) every year.

2. If these 200 tickets are used up, one could buy them at any bank at the same price.

3. Every time one parks a car in a public parking area, he would pay by giving the parking attendant a parking ticket. Serious penalties would be forthcoming on those paying in cash.

4. Every time a parking attendant deposits his proceeds at the end of the day at any bank, he exchanges the tickets he has collected for cash in accordance with a stipulated arrangement. One ticket, for example, would be worth Rp 150 (30 percent of the nominal value of Rp 500). In this way, a parking attendant would earn more or less the same amount as stipulated in the prevailing regional minimum wage provision.

5. In this way, the city administration would receive a portion of Rp 350 a ticket. The number of tickets used could be transparently monitored.

As proceeds from parking are huge, this system may be tried to ensure that the money will go into the coffers of the city administration. The parking business generates a lot of money if it is professionally managed. Otherwise, most of the proceeds will go into the pockets of irresponsible and corrupt people.

It is our hope that the governor of Jakarta can take serious action to put the city's parking business in order. Governor Sutiyoso, you can easily raise the parking rates but this will not overcome the problem. In fact, you have to account for the considerable loss of the city administration's revenue from parking as a result of the city's parking "mafia".

H. WISDARMANTO

Jakarta