No voucher system on holidays

No voucher system on holidays

Zakki Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Parking attendants on Jl. Haji Agus Salim did not use personal
digital assistants (PDAs) and vouchers when collecting parking
fees on Friday.

An attendant told The Jakarta Post that there was an
agreement to only use the gadgets on workdays, and that on public
holidays and Sundays parking fees were to be paid in cash.

Meanwhile, Kunto Wibisono, spokesperson for PT Adiwira
Sembada, the administration's partner in operating the voucher
system, told the Post that it had been agreed that the PDAs would
be used seven days a week.

"Field operators have violated the agreement. We will report
this violation to their superiors in the city's parking agency.
We question their commitment," he said.

The pilot project of a new parking system, which started on
May 28, is part of the administration's effort to maximize income
from parking fees.

On the first day of the project, the parking attendants
appeared to be unfamiliar with their gadgets, and some motorists
refused to cooperate until senior officials explained the new
system to them.

The project will also be applied, on June 2, on Jl. Bulevar
Raya, Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta; Jl. Jatinegara Timur, East
Jakarta; Jl. Gajah Mada, West Jakarta; and Jl. Raden Patah, South
Jakarta.

Some people have criticized the system, saying the scheme will
not ease the capital's traffic woes as planned and had little
hope of succeeding where other parking systems had failed.

Many critics say the administration should impose a policy
that would significantly reduce the number of cars plying the
streets, instead of applying a system encouraging on-street
parking that would worsen traffic problems.