Proposal to double parking fees not popular

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.