Jakarta's Parking Emergency: Pavements Occupied by Vehicles, Extortion Persists

The issue of illegal parking in Jakarta is considered to have reached emergency status. Pavements are filled with vehicles, roadways are narrowed due to haphazard parking, and allegations of illegal levies (pungli) in entertainment areas like Blok M illustrate the weakness in Jakarta’s parking oversight system. DPRD DKI Jakarta member from the PDI-P faction, Hardiyanto Kenneth, assesses that the parking disorder in Jakarta is no longer a minor issue as it disrupts public spaces and has the potential to cause leaks in local own-source revenue (PAD). “This is no longer a small problem. The parking chaos in Jakarta has entered emergency level. Pavements and roadways are now dominated by vehicles without firm control,” Kenneth told Kompas.com on Monday (11/5/2026). According to Kenneth, Jakarta’s parking problems are not only about vehicles filling pavements and roadways but also involve unclear parking tariffs and weak supervision of parking operators. “Besides reaching the pavements, there are also unclear parking tariffs,” he said. In a video uploaded by the Instagram account @ijooel, cars and motorbikes are seen parked occupying an entire lane on Jalan Matraman Raya. Several vehicles are even seen parked on the pavement alongside assets of boats belonging to the police, disturbing pedestrians. “Parking in front of the East Jakarta Police Resort and surroundings makes the roads narrow, hinders residents’ traffic flow, trying to report directly also gets a very passive response,” the account wrote. Based on Kompas.com observations on Friday (8/5/2026), vehicles that were previously parked in front of the police station were no longer visible. Head of the Operations Section of the East Jakarta Transportation Sub-District Office, Emiral, assured that his side continues to carry out enforcement in the area together with the Propam of the Metro Jakarta Timur Police Resort. “In front of the police station, it is still being enforced. We join with the Propam Police, every morning we have plotting along Jalan Matraman,” Emiral said. He stated that officers have towed several vehicles and deflated tyres of vehicles that still dare to park haphazardly.