Transport Bureau (DSAT) Director Kelvin Lam Hin San has announced that the government will raise parking fees of seven busy public carparks with the aim of encouraging drivers to use less busy ones nearby.
The increased parking fees will take effect next month in one of the seven, while the raised fees will start in December in the other six.
Lam made the remarks during a press conference on Friday after chairing a regular meeting of the government-appointed Traffic Consultative Council at his bureau.
The seven public carparks comprise six that currently have the same charging scheme as various other public carparks across the city as well as the Qingmao Checkpoint Carpark with higher parking fees than other public carparks in general.
Currently, in public carparks with the general charging scheme in the city, cars are charged six patacas per hour during the day (from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.) and three patacas per hour during the night (from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. the next day), while motorcycles are charged two patacas per hour during the day and one pataca per hour during the night.
According to Lam, from December, the government will raise parking fees of six public carparks that currently follow the general charging scheme, namely Pak Wu (near the New Yaohan department store), Pak Vai (near Kiang Wu Hospital), Vasco da Gama Garden, Cheng Chong Building in Ilha Verde, Pak Wai at the Pak Wai Garden residential estate on Avenida do Conselheiro Ferreira de Almeida, and Alameda Dr Carlos D’Assumpção in Nape.
From December, according to Lam, in the six carparks, cars will be charged eight patacas per hour during the day and four patacas per hour during the night, while motorcycles will be charged three patacas per hour during the day and 1.5 patacas per hour during the night.
In the Qingmao Checkpoint Carpark, cars are currently charged eight patacas per hour during the day and six patacas per hour during the night, while motorcycles are charged three patacas per hour during the day and two patacas per hour during the night.
From next month, according to Lam, in the Qingmao Checkpoint Carpark, parking fees for cars will be raised to 10 patacas during the day and eight patacas during the night, while fees for motorcycles will be raised to four patacas during the day and three patacas during the night.
Lam underlined that the seven public carparks with the increased parking fees are busy almost all the time.
Lam said that although some of the seven public carparks have nearby public carparks that are not busy, drivers still don’t tend to use them, as a matter of habit.
This photo taken on Sunday shows the entrance to the Pak Wu Carpark in Nam Van. – Photo: Tony Wong
