Parking agency report queried

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

For the sixth-straight year, BP Perparkiran, the city-owned agency which manages on-street parking in more 500 roads in Jakarta, reported a deficit, collecting only Rp 14 billion in parking revenue last year.

This is equivalent to roughly 38,000 of the 3.8 million registered vehicles in Jakarta using the agency's more than 15,000 parking spots. At the current flat parking fee of Rp 1,000 per car, this meant that the agency collected Rp 38 million in parking fees each day.

However, a field survey conducted by The Jakarta Post at three locations revealed that the agency could potentially earn much more from its operations.

In Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta, where there are more than 2,400 parking spots owned by BP Perparkiran, each of the 150 city parking attendants collect between Rp 75,000 to Rp 110,000 during their shift. With two shifts in place, BP Perparkiran collects between Rp 11 million to Rp 22 million each day.

Over an 800-meter stretch of Kelapa Gading's Jl Boulevard Barat, the agency also owns three parking facilities.

Maryanto, who has been working at one of those facilities for the past five years, said that his supervisor collected at least Rp 4.5 million daily from the three facilities.

In the 400 meter stretch of Jl. Agus Salim, Central Jakarta, popularly known as Jl. Sabang, 40 city parking attendants, wearing their light-blue uniforms, work in three shifts throughout the day.

"During the morning shift, each attendant, on average, collects Rp 60,000; the afternoon shift Rp 100,000; and the third shift Rp 50,000," said a parking attendant, who requested not to be identified.

He added that on average each of the parking attendants made between Rp 30,000 to Rp 50,000 daily.

Based on his figures, the daily revenue from that stretch, which has space for 320 cars parked diagonally, reaches almost Rp 3 million.

Throughout the heavily-trafficked one kilometer stretch of Jl Gajah Mada, West Jakarta, that can accommodate parking for about 120 cars, approximately 20 parking attendants work each of the two six-hour shifts.

A survey of the 20 parking attendants on duty revealed that the amount they collected ranged from a low of Rp 45,000 to a high of Rp 65,000. This meant that the amount collected was between Rp 1.8 million to Rp 2.6 million.

"My supervisor once told me that only Rp 12,000 of the amount I collect each day reaches the city treasury," said a parking attendant who collects Rp 60,000 daily from his area that fits six cars.

At the end of their shifts, parking attendants, who collect money from drivers, hand over a pre-determined amount to their supervisor, the head parking attendant. Each head parking attendant, who supervises roughly 10 to 20 parking attendants, is then supposed to hand over the money to an appointed official at the agency, who then turns it over to the city.

Dedi, a parking attendant who makes about Rp 30,000 in Kelapa Gading, said "If the flow of money is coordinated better, the city could be making a lot of money."