Parking Fee Hike Draws Ire

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Council parking rates in Penang will increase by 50% on the island. — Photos: CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
THE 50% increase in Penang City Council (MBPP) parking fees, effective March 1, has sparked widespread concern, with many questioning the necessity of burdening road users in these difficult times, especially office workers.
Lee Hui Szu, 40, who works in sales in the heart of town said she pays RM6 for a full day of parking daily and the thought of it increasing to RM9 is unsettling.
“I work at a shoplot in town, so I am here extra early to find parking, and which means I take a full day’s parking option.
“While RM6 seems fine, the 50% increase is drastic.
Lee displays the change using thePenang smart parking app monthly pass.
“I would have understood if it went up by 20%, but this new increase will be heavy burden on the pocket,” she said at her shop in George Town.
Lee said she has no choice but to continue parking at the MBPP parking lot as other options in town were too expensive for her.
Goh Chia Ye, 29, who runs a beverage outlet along Campbell Street, shared the same sentiments, noting that the 50% price hike seemed high.
Goh says she takes a full day parking, five days a week.“I take a full day’s parking as I am here from 10.30am to around midnight about five days a week.
“I normally drive an average of four times a week as I need to transport goods.
“On days when possible, I do come by motorcycle, and only when the weather permits.
“Those are long hours but I do not take the monthly pass as I am not here seven days a week,” she said.
B. Premala, 68, who works as a translator, parks her car at the city council parking lot five days a week when she works.
“I park from 8am to slightly past noon on weekdays.
“I do not take the full day’s parking as I am not there the whole day. It will now cost me quite a bit more.
“There is free private parking for us employees at my office building but spaces are limited and it is usually always full, so I have to rely on the city council bays,” she said.
“As a retiree working part-time, I do not earn much and paying extra for parking will add up by the end of the month.
B. Premala says it will cost her quite a bit more.“I will be forking out RM1.20 per hour, which is a lot for me,” said Premala.
Penang island mayor Datuk A. Rajendran said the hike would be implemented on all sensored and non-sensored MBPP carparks from March 1.
“As of Jan 31 this year there were 19,213 council lots on the island.
“By revising the parking rate, the council hopes that the public will start taking public transport or even share vehicles.
“This will reduce the carbon footprint and traffic congestion currently faced here.
“A lot of people park in town for the whole day,” he said.
The mayor said that many would park from early in the morning and they deprived others a spot.
“The car is idle for 10 hours and the council parking is cheap.
“I cannot have this go on where it deprives others of parking,” he said.
Rajendran said one way to curb this was to increase the parking charges.
“We have not increased it in many years.
“We have increased the number of parking lots but there are more cars on the road as well.
“It seems like it is not enough, so we need to allow a greater turnover.
“There is shortage of carparks and we are now imposing it on developers to assign the first level of buildings as parking for the public.
“We have imposed this on a few developers but it will take a few years for it to be built,” he added.
Rajendran said the rates for the new parking would be fixed by the city council.
“It will be available in three to four years. 
“In the meantime, we have free public transport and have increased the number of shuttle busses serving the people.
“There are e-hailing services as well that are available. I cannot provide parking for everyone, so we have taken these measures,” he said.
It was announced last year that the parking rates on Penang island would be increased by 50%.
Under the revised rates, parking fees will increase from 40sen to 60sen for 30mins, 80sen to RM1.20 for an hour, and RM6 to RM9 for a full day.
On the mainland, Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) parking fees went up 100% from Jan 1.
MBSP mayor Datuk Baderul Amin Abdul Hamid acknowledged that the public were not pleased by the hike.
“Although we have one of the lowest parking rates in the country, the fact that we raised ours by 100% has irked people.
“It is still a reasonable amount and I know it will take time to get used to.
“And compared to private parking, council parking is still much cheaper,” he highlighted.
Under the revised rates, MBSP hourly parking is 80sen, up from 40sen, while the daily rate went up from RM3 to RM6.
Monthly parking passes rose from RM75 to RM150.
A new short-term option of 40sen for 30 minutes was introduced. - Star

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