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Jakarta struggles to end illicit parking attendants amid high unemployment
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Boxed in: Cars and motorcycles throng a road heading to the Semanggi underpass in Jakarta on Oct. 10, 2023. (Antara/Suci Nurhaliza)
T
he Jakarta administration is making another bid to crack down on the never-ending practice of informal parking attendants at convenience stores, but the underlying cause of the city’s high unemployment rate is adding complexity to the issue.
In response to public complaints about parking fees despite the businesses providing free parking, acting Jakarta governor Heru Budi Hartono instructed relevant institutions earlier this month to discipline informal parking attendants “in a humane manner”.
Ulul, a 25-year-old private employee in Central Jakarta who uses a motorcycle, is among the residents who find the unchecked practice irksome. He said he normally spent around Rp 2,000 [13 US cents] on illicit parking fees for each visit to a convenience store.
“Actually, I feel burdened and unwilling to pay, especially when I don’t have any small change,” Ulul told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
These illegal attendants often appear just as customers are about to leave the parking lot, and don’t do much in the way of directing vehicles in a parking lot.
‘Humane’ measures
The city administration has deployed a joint team of personnel from its transportation agency, public order agency (Satpol PP), local police and the military to crack down on illegal parking attendants at convenience stores in five municipalities.
