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lthough the Jakarta Council is still mulling the city administration’s plan to raise parking fees, its speaker said on Friday that he welcomed the proposal if it would lead to an improvement in the capital’s notorious parking management.

Council speaker Ferrial Sofyan said there were several contentious issues being discussed in the deliberation of the revision to the 2009 bylaw on parking.

“There are a lot of issues to be discussed [in the deliberation]. And if there is to be an increase, we hope there will be no misuse of funds, so it can contribute to the regional income,” he said.

Ferrial said he was hoping that parking management would be conducted more professionally, should the council approve the planned hike in parking fees. “There should be a reformation in parking management,” he said.

This year, the regional income generated from parking fees managed by the administration reached around Rp 21 billion (about US$2.3 million).

Jakarta has the cheapest parking rates in Southeast Asia, according to property consultancy agency Colliers International’s 2011 Global Parking Rate Survey. The survey found Jakarta’s average monthly parking fee was US$27.20, higher only than Mumbai’s $25.68. Globally London City topped the list at $1,020.29 per month, followed by London’s West End and then Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Sydney.

The city administration has plans to increase parking fees by up to four times the current rate in the capital. For on-street parking, cars would face a parking fee increase from Rp 1,000 (11 US cents) to Rp 4,000 per hour, and from Rp 500 to Rp 2,000 per hour for motorcycles.

For buses and trucks, the fees would increase from Rp 2,000 to Rp 6,000 per hour. Fees for cars parked in buildings would be increased from the current Rp 2,000 to Rp 4,000 per hour.

The administration has said the plan should help to reduce the city’s congestion.

Councilors are aiming to approve the bylaw in the first semester of next year. The administration submitted the hike proposal in its review of the retribution bylaw last year, but the council later decided that parking fees would be regulated under a different bylaw.

The plan has caused controversy. Some motorists have condemned the plan as outrageous, saying the increase was just too much. But the Jakarta Transportation Council (DTKJ) welcomes it, saying that it could be an ideal tool to end the traffic congestion in the city.

DTKJ head Azas Tigor Nainggolan said the increase would deter people from using private vehicles and switch to public transportation. He said that the increased parking fees should also mean improved facilities for motorists.

After approval from the Council, the implementation of the bylaw will be detailed in a gubernatorial decree.

Jakarta Parking Management Body said that in the proposed pricing scheme, the city planned to apply a zone-based parking fee system, where the tariffs would depend on how busy the streets were

Parking fees in downtown areas would be more expensive than fees in the outskirts of the city.

Earlier this year, the city imposed a ban on on-street parking along Jl. Hayam Wuruk and Jl. Gajah Mada. The measure was later implemented in the Pasar Baru area as the administration received complaints from road users that parking had disrupted traffic.

The agency said the measure would lead to better security and increase pedestrian space.