City authorities likely to appoint two parking operators

JAKARTA (JP): The City Administration will likely appoint two private parking operators to manage street parking here, but they would apply one parking system, a parking official said on Tuesday.

Deputy Head of the city parking agency Sukri Bey said that the same system should be used to avoid confusion among the public.

For example, customers should be able to use their parking cards in all areas in the city although they are managed by different firms.

There should be an arrangement for the transfer of the parking fees from one parking operator to the other, he said.

The city administration and the parking agency on Wednesday would further discuss issues related to the appointment of the new parking operators, he added.

The two firms, PT Adiwira Sembada and PT Mega Nusantara Masagena, were recommended by the City Council last week as they were considered to be the best among four firms which joined a final selection as parking operators.

The council recommended that PT Adiwira manage the parking along the streets in West Jakarta, East Jakarta and North Jakarta while PT Mega is to manage those in Central Jakarta and South Jakarta.

Sukri said the cooperation between the parking agency and the parking operators is expected to start in April.

The city administration had earlier admitted that the management of the city parking agency was poor and it needed partners to help deal with the problems it faced.

City Bylaw No. 5/1999 stipulates that the administration has the responsibility to manage on-street parking in the capital, but it leaves open the possibility of cooperation with private companies.

Sukri said the parking agency had recorded an income of Rp 10.2 billion last year and contributed Rp 1.2 billion to the city's revenue.

"Although the income was still below the target of Rp 14 billion, we are no longer subsidized," he said.

He said the agency, which suffered losses in recent years, received a subsidy of Rp 4 billion in 1999.

Besides obtaining increased income, the agency also managed to improve its parking service as shown in several pilot project areas, including along Jl. Cokroaminoto and Jl. MH. Thamrin, in Central Jakarta, Jl. Jend. Sudirman in South Jakarta, and Jl. Bulevar Raya in Kelapa Gading area, North Jakarta. (jun)