Proposal to double parking fees not popular

Bambang Nurbianto, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

A plan by off-street parking operators to double the Rp 2,000 (21 US cents) parking fee to Rp 4,000 per hour has received strong opposition from various quarters.

Car owner Farok, 38, a resident of Ciputat, South Jakarta, claimed on Thursday that parking operators had neglected consumers' right to quality services.

"How can they expect the fee to be increased when they can't improve their services, particularly that of ensuring the security of our vehicles and items inside them?" said the employee of a private company on Jl. Kwitang Raya, Central Jakarta.

"I hope the city administration and the City Council reject their proposal because they want higher profits without offering improved services," he told The Jakarta Post.

On Tuesday, PT Securindo Packatama Indonesia, better known as Secure Parking, which dominates over 70 percent of off-street parking in the city, announced a plan to increase parking fees.

The company's corporate affairs manager, Toni Tjuaca, said the planned increase was necessary due to increased operational costs caused by the recent increase in fuel prices.

He added that the company would soon submit a proposal for the increase to the city administration.

City Council Commission D for development affairs chairman Sayogo Hendrasubroto said the council had not been informed of the proposal to increase parking fees.

"I don't see any reason to increase parking fees. They (operators) have not been able to respond, for example, to public complaints about security in parking lots," he said on the sidelines of a seminar on Thursday.

Jakarta Residents Forum (Fakta) chairman Azas Tigor Nainggolan said several requirements should be fulfilled by both parking operators and the administration before fees were increased.

Parking operators, he said, should ensure the public that they would improve their services, plus the city administration should first improve the condition of public vehicles to encourage car owners to leave their cars at home and use public transportation.

"I suggest the administration use parking fee taxes to improve the poor condition of public transportation.

"Parking fee increases should not only be based on the request of parking operators, but should also take into account improvements in the city's macro transportation system," he told the Post.