Touch, pay more, ‘n Go

Why parking rates sometimes rise when you use your Touch ‘n Go card.

PETALING JAYA: Have you experienced having to pay extra for parking your vehicle just because you used your Touch ‘n Go card instead of hard cash?

Some shopping malls charge an extra 10 sen per ringgit of Touch ‘n Go use, while others have refrained from doing so.

The higher parking charges, according to Touch ‘n Go Sdn Bhd, are to cover the costs shared between parking operators and the smart card company.

“The current business model focuses on the convenience and safety that comes along with using [an] e-payment system to pay for parking,” Touch ‘n Go customer service head Rohaya Hassan said in a statement e-mailed to FMT.

“The surcharge imposed is to cover the infrastructure and operational cost of installing and maintaining the e-payment system at respective sites.”

She acknowledged, however, that some parking operators using the Touch ‘n Go system preferred not to add the surcharge and would absorb the cost instead.

The infrastructure of a parking system is maintained either by a particular building’s owner or the company operating the park.

The smart card company handles the backend e-payment system and charges a fee for clearing transactions.

Rohaya pointed out that vehicle owners had the option of not using their Touch ‘n Go cards at parking sites.

But she also said the company was “working closely” with building owners and parking operators to make sure that smart card and normal ticket payments were equal.