Private firms to help with parking

Private firms to help with parking

JAKARTA (JP): The city parking authority, BP Parkir, has asked
private companies to cooperate in managing parking in the city in
an effort to increase the city's revenues from parking.

City Secretary Harun Al Rasyid said yesterday that the
proposal from BP Parkir stressed the importance of involving
other parties in the management of city parking.

Three private companies are interested in investing in city
parking and have recently offered to manage the business under a
prize system. One of them, PT Ikabina Karya Sukses, claims that,
if awarded a contract, it could contribute an annual Rp 25.9
billion (US$11.77 million) to the city coffers.

However, the city administration has announced that it will
not accept any proposal which offers prizes to motorists for the
collection of parking fee receipts.

"There are requirements for such a prize parking system, such
as an official permit from the Ministry of Social Services,"
Harun said.

Harun said the current system was adequate, but that "it needs
a better management system."

"The proposal made by BP Parker is in line with general view
of the public that it is time to include private companies in
managing the parking systems," Harun said.

However, Harun refused to give details of the proposal, such
as the nature of the cooperation or the private company or
companies, which will be invited to work with BP Parkir.

"It is too early to announce such details because the city
administration is still studying the proposal," Harun said,
adding that the administration would make announcements "in due
course".

The move to involve the private sector comes as the city's own
parking management agency has failed to live up to expectations
and amid allegations of misappropriation of funds.

BP Parkir manages most of the city's parking areas, including
those along main roads and some of those on lesser roads. But the
area it controls is shrinking, as more and more main roads are
declared no-parking zones. In some cases the agency sub-contracts
areas to local people and collects the funds at the end of the
month.

The municipality set a parking fee revenue target of Rp 14.6
billion in the 1994/1995 fiscal year, which ended on March 31. In
the nine months to December, BP Parkir had only raised Rp 9
billion and is likely to fall short of the target.

In 1993/1994, BP Parkir managed to collect only Rp 9 billion,
well below the Rp 11.6 billion target. (yns)