Motorists to be hit with higher parking fees

Damar Harsanto The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

While parking operators are yet to file an official request, Governor Sutiyoso has already thrown his weight behind moves to double parking fees from the current Rp 2,000 (20 U.S. cents) to Rp 4,000 per hour.

"It is necessary for us to raise parking fees in the city in order to ease the huge number of vehicles packing downtown areas, which results in chronic traffic jams. Currently, people prefer to drive their cars into downtown areas partly due to the low parking fees," Sutiyoso told reporters over the weekend.

Sutiyoso's comment was in reference to a statement by PT Securindo Packatama Indonesia, better known as Secure Parking, which it is seeking to raise off-street parking fees from Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000 per hour.

Secure Parking general manager for communications Tony Tjuatja said last week the rise was necessary to weather ballooning operational costs, especially due to the expected hike in the provincial minimum wage amid inflationary pressures.

Secure Parking employs more than 9,000 attendants to manage at least 130 parking locations across the capital.

"We plan to officially lodge the proposal to the administration after the Idul Fitri holiday through the Communication Forum for Private Parking Operators (FKPPS)," he said.

Secure Parking controls over 60 percent of off-street parking in the capital.

Data released by Jakarta traffic police shows that last year alone there were at least 6.4 million vehicles traversing the city's streets.

Motorcycles enjoy the highest annual growth at 15.72 percent, followed by passenger cars with 7.37 percent and goods vans 5.31 percent.

"Most big cities in the world also impose relatively high parking fees to control the number of vehicles operating in city centers," Sutiyoso argued.

The administration imposes a flat rate across the city for on- street parking -- Rp 500 for motorcycles and Rp 1,000 for cars -- but in reality, parking attendants require motorcyclists to pay Rp 1,000, while those driving cars pay between Rp 2,000 and Rp 10,000.

Councillor Maringan Pangaribuan, however, opposed the plan, saying that the increase cause yet another headache for residents.

"People have already witnessed increases in their living costs. We should not add to their burden. We will oppose the plan. Besides, we do not see any improvement in parking services," he said.

Motorists have often complained of poor service provided by off-street parking operators with auto theft rampant.

Sutiyoso, however, is not taking these objections seriously.