Local government, traffic management and flood mitigation committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said after a trial period in 2014, the council and concessionaire had finally fine-tuned the device.
“The application is the first in the country and we hope the public will accept the pre-payment system for convenience and hassle-free parking,” he said.
He said due to shortage of parking lots on the island, there was no easy solution to the parking problem.
“There will be pros and cons in parking systems and we hope there will be more pros with implementation of this system.
“Vehicle owners will leave the device on their dashboard and switch it on to show a blinking light. They will switch it off once they are back in the car.
“Coupon parking will still be available for those coming to the island from outstation as they cannot commit themselves to the pre-payment system,” said Chow.
He also said more innovations would be added to the system from time to time for the convenience of motorists.
“We hope to control traffic flow with the implementation of this system,” he said.
Chow said parking on roadside lots were cheaper than parking at complexes. Because of this motorists opted to park by the roadside.
“We hope to standardise the parking fees between parking complexes and roadside parking after getting feedback from the public,” he said.
Eric Voon, operations manager of Perkhidmatan Alam Indah Sdn Bhd, a parking concessionaire, said the SPG was available at RM75 for RM50 parking credit and the promotional offer was RM275 for RM300 parking credit.
“The top-up is available at 7-Eleven outlets and petrol stations with a minimum payment of RM10,” said Voon, adding the credit will last for a year while the SPG will be required to be sent for service and maintenance annually for a fee of RM25.
“To-date some 5,600 units have been sold to the public and we hope to reach a target of 20,000 unit sales in the next two years,” said Voon, adding the first five minutes of parking would be free after which every additional minute would be RM0.01sen.
Meanwhile, the council’s financial management committee alternate chairman Joseph Ng Soon Siang said the concessionaire would pay the council RM652,000 every month as part of the tender award agreement.
On the issue of pending summonses, he said there were between 35,000 and 40,000 summonses issued every month and normally about 40 per cent of the fines were paid within the stipulated 14-day notice.
Original article from The Malay Mail Online
