'Improve public transportation before hiking parking fees'

The perennial traffic congestion in the central business district (CBD) around the federal capital can only be resolved if the public transportation system becomes more efficient and more parking space is provided in the city's outskirts, according to consumer groups.

They said the public, especially people who lived in suburban areas, would have no excuses not to use public transportation to travel to the CBD if it was efficient and ample parking bays were provided at the bus, train or light rail transit (LRT) stations concerned.

There had been a public outcry over Kuala Lumpur City Hall's (DBKL) announcement that its parking charges within the CBD would increase by up to 150 percent, effective July 18.

The affected areas are Bukit Bintang, Bukit Damansara, Sri Hartamas, Desa Hartamas, Solaris Mont Kiara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail and Bangsar but last Wednesday, DBKL reportedly cancelled the increase in parking fees in Taman Tun Dr Ismail following a meeting with Federal Territories Minister Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

Muslim Consumers Association of Malaysia chief activist Nadzim Johan said he did not think that hiking the parking fees was the best solution to overcoming traffic congestion in the CBD as the Klang Valley's public transportation services were far from satisfactory.

Public transporation problems

He said the higher parking rates would be an extra burden for consumers, more so at a time when they were grappling with the higher cost of living.

Urging DBKL to rethink the parking rate hike, Nadzim said: "They should look at the matter more thoroughly to see if it's relevant to raise the parking fees. I believe that if the public transportation in our country has an extensive network and offers satisfactory and comfortable services, then it will be the first choice of Malaysians.

"But, as long as there are complaints from the public over the inefficiencies of public transport, the delays, etc, how can the authorities convince us to use their services?" he told Bernama.

Federation of Malaysian Consumers Associations (Fomca) deputy president Mohd Yusof Abdul Rahman, meanwhile, stressed the importance of providing more parking facilities in the CBD's outskirts to enable members of the public to park their vehicles there before taking public transport to the city centre.

He said parts of the CBD like Solaris Mont Kiara, Bukit Damansara and Sri Hartamas have limited parking bays and were also not all that well served by public transport like bus and LRT services.

"A lot of people don't live in the city centre but in the outskirts and it's not easy for them to use public transport like LRT or monorail due to limited or non-availability of parking facilities (at the stations concerned).

"Furthermore, in some areas (in the city's outskirts), it's hard to get public transport, so the people there have no choice but to use their own vehicles to go to the city, where they will now be forced to pay steep parking fees," he said.

Postpone enforcement

Under the new parking fee regime, DBKL has imposed a two-hour maximum limit for parking at its bays. The hourly parking charges in the CBD has been increased from 80 sen an hour to RM2 for the first hour and RM3 for the second hour, after which parked vehicles would be clamped and towed to the DBKL vehicle depot.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz has justified the hike, saying that DBKL had not raised its parking rates for the past 40 years.

The move was also aimed at easing traffic congestion in the city centre, he said, adding that DBKL only has 46,000 parking bays compared to the three million vehicles entering the capital city every day.

"Many people park their cars there from morning till evening, thus others don't get the chance to park there ... this is why we're imposing the two-hour limit on parking (in the city centre) to prevent congestion," he was quoted as saying recently.

Mohd Yusof, meanwhile, suggested that DBKL postpone enforcing the new parking charges in areas that are not served by public transport.

"There's nothing wrong in increasing the parking rates but DBKL must provide an alternative choice for those people who are hampered by poor public transport services. It's alright (to raise the parking rates) in places like Masjid Jamek which is well served by public transport services," he said.

Discourage visitors

The higher parking charges, added Mohd Yusof, may also discourage Malaysians residing outside Kuala Lumpur or in other states from visiting the city for shopping, eating out or sightseeing.

Asked if it would encourage people working in the city to carpool, he said while carpooling suited those working in the same organisation, it was not a viable option for most people owing to factors like different destinations and working hours.

Project coordinator Siti Noorfarini Mohd Noor, 30, whose office is located in Kuala Lumpur, hoped the public transportation system would be improved considerably as she did not want to spend "half my salary on parking fees".

"And, after spending on toll and petrol, I won't have much money left... it just doesn't make sense," she said.

Teacher Muhammad Zahar Sulaiman, 23 - who lives in Kampung Baru and uses public transport to travel to his school near Setapak - said the parking fee hike should have been more reasonable as Kuala Lumpur was already an expensive city to live and work in.

"I hope DBKL will listen to the views of the city folks and make decisions that are in their best interests," he added.

Tengku Adnan had also said recently that several areas which have been listed as Kuala Lumpur’s CBD would probably be recategorised following the introduction of new parking rates in the capital.

He said the authorities would have to reconsider if Mont Kiara, Bangsar, Sri Hartamas, Kepong and Taman Tun Dr Ismail should come under the CBD list, for the benefit of the people living or working there.

- Bernama