Editorial: Clamping wheels

Sat, 05/10/2008 10:34 AM  |  Opinion

Apparently Jakarta is one of the world's biggest and longest parking lots, because people can park their vehicles almost anywhere, even in places where big "No Parking" or "No Stopping" notices are displayed. Of course, you are required to pay fees to official or unofficial parking attendants.

Therefore, it is not so strange the city administration has to subsidize the implementation of on-street parking despite millions of cars being parked on the streets everyday. So most parking fees go to parking officers and unauthorized organizers, rather than to the city treasury.

But now, at least for a while, we have to refrain from our long-time practice of parking our cars anywhere we like. This may be the message behind last week's launch of a wheel-locking policy targeting cars parked in illegal parking places. But, will it deter motorists from parking their cars in such areas?

Chaotic on-street parking is one product of the city's transportation problem as city authorities have failed to control thugs and unauthorized parties from charging parking fees.

The transportation agency is in charge of parking management in Jakarta, and many agency officials are in positions to benefit from the parking racket. So, are they willing to deny themselves such lucrative incomes?

On-street parking -- legal and illegal -- does not only occupy road shoulders, but also large parts of many roads, often worsening traffic congestion, which has spiraled out of control with the increasing number of cars allowed on the roads.

Since the policy's launch, hundreds of vehicles have been clamped.

Governor Fauzi Bowo may think it is a brilliant way to discipline motorists, but we really don't believe the policy will work well for a number of reasons.

We are not opposed to such a policy on principal; we even agree that, in the future, all on-street parking in the capital will be prohibited because the city's infrastructure was not designed to accommodate stationary vehicles.

Further more, we share the opinion that the city's parking policy -- on-street and off-street -- should be integrated with efforts to overcome congestion.

So is the city ready to carry out such a policy? The answer is no. Why?

First, many city regulations are only good on paper. Many of them do not work when implemented: Barring smoking in public places, requiring private cars to carry out emission tests and public transportations to use gas fuel and barring vending along sidewalks.

We really doubt the city administration has the resources to monitor illegal parking activities across hundreds of sites. Besides, many government officers collude with unauthorized organizers to keep the business running.

The new policy will only strengthen the bargaining position of corrupt parking attendants and unauthorized parking organizers to blackmail motorists. The city administration needs to address the problem at its root.

Another issue is that many buildings and offices lack sufficient parking facilities, forcing visitors and employees to park on nearby road shoulders. Should the authorities lock those cars?

Cleaning up roads of parked cars may be the right choice in the long-run, but success can only be achieved if there are adequate off-street parking facilities.

It is not impossible for the administration to make parking a a lucrative business. To achieve this, they would not need to impose any ceiling fees, but rather let the market decide the amount and, as an immediate result, parking fees would increase depending on the area.

High parking fees, together with electronic road pricing (ERP) and plate number restraints, represent efforts to discourage people from relying too heavily on their cars.

However, they serve merely as nuisances rather than deterrents in the absence of any kind of convenient public transportation.

Therefore, encouraging people to abide by on-street parking regulations must be supported by other efforts to improve transportation in the city. Clamping wheels is not enough.

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