Anger over 150% hike for DBKL parking bays

Big hike: Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan consultant Datuk Nik Haidi Nik Mohamad inspecting one of the parking terminals which were upgraded to reflect the new rates.

KUALA LUMPUR: The increased parking charges for bays owned by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) have shocked and angered city folk as the new rates took effect yesterday.

A check by StarMetro found that motorists within the Central Business District (CBD) were upset that they had to fork out 150% more to park in the area.

The rates were increased from the usual 80 sen per hour to RM2 for the first hour, and RM3 for the subsequent hours.

Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Mohd Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz reiterated that the increase was necessary to help free up space while encouraging the use of public transportation.

He said 100 enforcement officers were mobilised to help in the transition.

“The rate has not been reviewed for the past 40 years and the charges are still lower than in other Asian countries.

“We hope this will reduce at least one million vehicles coming into the city every day,” he said.

The new parking charges are being enforced in stages from now until Aug 1, which will see an increase of between 100% and 200%, depending on the locality.

Rates will eventually go up by next month in zones outside the city where the parking charges are currently at 50 sen per hour. Depending on the zones, motorists will be charged RM1.50 or RM1 per hour.

DBKL owns 46,100 metered parking bays in the city; 22% or 9,914 are located at the CBD area.