Motorists furious over parking rate increase

PETALING JAYA: Motorists are up in arms over the drastic parking rate increase implemented in Kuala Lumpur, with many saying the policy is ill-conceived.
Home school teacher Lemuel Yee said it would be more logical to reduce the price of public transport to encourage use instead of seemingly penalising drivers.
"If you want to lower the number of cars going into the city, lower the price and increase the efficiency of public transport. Wouldn't that be a win-win situation?" Yee told theSun.
The 35-year-old father of three said the state of public transport also leaves much to be desired, using his recent trip from his home in Puchong to Bangsar, where the increased parking charges applies, as an example.
Yee said he had to collect something he bought online in Bangsar, and decided to take his family along to try out the recently completed LRT line extensions there.
"I assumed I could get to Bangsar within an hour via LRT. We took one hour and 15 minutes and I was late for my appointment," he said.
Yee said his family of five racked up a bill of almost RM30 for taking the train.
For the return trip, he said his family hailed a Uber ride back, which cost less than RM35.
IT manager Alex Lim questioned why Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YWP) was appointed to manage the city's parking system, with an agreement that only 35% of the gross revenue is paid to DBKL.
"My concern has to do with the doublespeak coming from DBKL about claiming the price hike is to reduce traffic congestion, but why the consolidation of parking management?
"Why the introduction of a new monopolistic player and system to manage parking and then pump up the price? It seems short-sighted to me," Lim said.
An English daily revealed that DBKL-owned parking spots had rates increased between 100% and 200% depending on the area, with Central Business Districts (CBD) charging especially high rates.
Parking spots in CBDs such as Bangsar, KL City Centre, Bukit Damansara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Sri Hartamas will be charged RM2 for the first hour and RM3 for every subsequent hour.
Meanwhile, Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations (Fomca) chief executive Datuk Paul Selvaraj said the astounding parking fare hike in Kuala Lumpur is ill-advised considering that the quality of public transport is still not up to par.
He said although it is a potential measure to ease congestion in the city, this depends on a good public transport system.
In that regard, Selvaraj said perhaps the authorities should have gone to the ground and see for themselves before formulating such policies.