HCM City’s parking fee plan a disappointment

An hourly on-street parking zone on Lê Lai Street, HCM City. - Photo baogiaothong.vn

HCM CITY — The amount of fees collected from the newly-implemented hourly on-street parking zones in HCM City were disappointing, according to the city’s transport department, with the rate of lost revenue reaching as high as 60 per cent. According to the department, the fees collected from 23 on-street parking zones in Districts 1, 5 and 10 totalled about VNĐ11 million (US$488) a day, equivalent to the revenue gained with the old rate of VNĐ5,000 per car for one parking. HCM City started raising the tolls of the parking zones in question on August 1 this year, with drivers having to pay between VNĐ20,000 and VNĐ25,000 for the first hour and slightly higher rates for following hours.

Payment is made via the My Parking application on smartphones. Head of the department’s Division on Management and Use of Land Transport Infrastructure Ngô Hải Đường told radio broadcaster VOV that the hour-based parking fee collection proved to be effective in limiting the time cars were parked on the street. The high rates also forced people to reconsider driving cars and switching to public transport, which helped reduce traffic jams in the city centre, he added. However, the amount collected did not meet authorities’ targets despite a high number of vehicles parked on the streets, Đường said.

“The reason is the high rate of lost revenue, approximately 50 to 60 per cent,” he said.

“Many drivers refused to use the app, the fee collectors didn’t inform drivers on how to use the app or in some cases the app was not working.” He said that the transport department was working with district authorities on further solutions. — VNS