Park your car, and win a new one

Park your car, and win a new one

JAKARTA (JP): If the administration's new plan is approved, very soon parking lot receipts could carry lucrative prizes. The plan, now under review, is the city's latest attempt to encourage motorists to insist on obtaining tickets from parking attendants.

Sumaryono, the head of the city parking management agency BP Parkir, said the idea had come from a private contractor that is also being considered for the running of his agency's operation.

The chief problem in parking management is that parking attendants are reluctant to give receipts in return for the Rp 300 an hour paid by visitors to park their vehicles, Sumaryono said.

In the absence of receipts, BP Parkir cannot accurately calculate and control their revenues, a problem that has exposed the agency to wide criticism, including allegations of misappropriation, he said.

The prizes being considered are household appliances, electronics and perhaps even automobiles.

Jakarta Vice Governor TB Rais on a separate occasion confirmed the plan but said that it had not been formally approved. If given the green light, the new plan could be launched within the year.

BP Parkir, which collects the parking fees, consistently falls short of revenue targets set by the municipal office.

Sumaryono said he believed that approval of the plan, to be launched in cooperation with a private contractor, could triple the city's income coming from parking fees. (emb)