The government has submitted a bill regulating public parking to the Legislative Assembly (AL), which proposes a 20-percent increase in the fines to be paid by motorcycle riders who fail to pay their street parking fees.
The bill has already been uploaded to the legislature’s website. The legislature has scheduled a plenary session tomorrow for the debate and vote of the bill’s outline.
The government proposes that the new public-parking law will replace the current public-parking administration regulation (by-law), which was promulgated in 2003.
According to the current regulation, riders who fail to pay the fee after parking their motorcycle in a street parking space for up to an hour are fined 50 patacas, while they face a fine of 100 patacas after parking their vehicles for over an hour.
The bill proposes that riders who fail to pay the fee after parking their motorbikes in a street parking space for up to an hour will be fined 60 patacas, while they will face a fine of 120 patacas after parking their vehicle for over an hour without paying the fee.
The bill proposes that drivers of light vehicles (such as cars) and heavy vehicles (such as lorries and buses) who fail to pay the fee after parking their vehicle in a parking space for up to an hour will be fined 75 patacas and 150 patacas respectively, while they will face a fine of 150 patacas and 300 patacas after parking their vehicle for over an hour without paying the fee.
The proposed fines for drivers of light vehicles and heavy vehicles remain unchanged from the current fines listed by the current public parking regulation.
Only e-parking meters
Meanwhile, the bill also proposes that parking fees for street parking spaces can only be paid for by e-payment.
Currently, parking meters for street parking spaces do accept coins or Macau Pass cards.
The bill’s explanatory note, which has also been uploaded on the legislature’s website, says that due to the increasing popularity of paying parking fees by electronic channels, it is nowadays difficult to purchase parking meters that still accept coins.
The explanatory note also says that the operations, repairs and maintenance of parking meters that also accept coins in addition to e-payment involve a higher cost.
This undated handout photo taken from the Transport Bureau’s (DSAT) website yesterday shows a section of parking spaces for motorcycles in the city.
