Reduced fees have to be approved, gazetted first: Mayor
KOTA KINABALU:
The new reduced parking rates in the Central Business District (CBD) in the City will be implemented once it has been approved by the State Cabinet and gazetted. In the meantime, Mayor Datuk Iliyas Ibrahim has called on the public to be patient, as the procedure to fully implement the new rates .will take some time. “According to the normal procedure, the proposed reduction has to be submitted to the State Attorney General for vetting before it is approved by the Chief Minister and subsequently forwarded to the Government Printer for publication as a gazette before it can be implemented”, he explained. According to Iliyas, the move to reduce the parking rates by up to 67 percent for Type A parking lots was made following the request by Minister of Resource Development and Information Technology, Datuk Dr Yee Moh Chai recently. Following Yee’s request, Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman also made a call for Kota Kinabalu City Hall (City Hall) to review the parking rates in the City. With the reduction, Type A parking lots, which are meant for short-term parking in the CBD, the existing rate of RMO.35 per 1/2 hour for the 1st and 2nd half hour, will be reduced to RMO.25 per 1/2 hour (a 28% reduction). The existing rate of RM1.50 per 1/2 hour for the 3rd and 4th half hour, will be reduced to RMO.50 per half hour (a 67% reduction). However, the existing rate of RM2 per half hour for the 5th and subsequent half hours will remain unchanged. Iliyas said Type A parking lots are meant for the public to park for a short duration, and City Hall believes that most people would be able to get their business done, ie. banking, within the two hours period. The reduction is to ensure that parking in these areas (Type A), are affordable and easily available. As for Type B parking lots, which are meant for medium duration parking, City Hall has granted a reduction of up to 42%. The existing rates for the first six half hours parking, however, will be maintained. These are the RMO.25 per half hour for the 1st and 2nd half hour, and RMO.50 for the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th 1/2 hour. However, the rates for the 7th and subsequent half hours are now reduced from RM1.00 per half hour, to RMO.50 per half hour. “This means that the total parking fees for a day will be reduced from RM14.50 to RM8.50, which is already a 41% reduction,” said Iliyas. After much study and considerations, City Hall has decided that there will be no change to the existing rates for Type C and C1 parking lots, as these parking are meant for long term parking in the CBD and outside the CBD, respectively. “The existing rate of the seasonal monthly tickets, which are used by most motorists, is already offering a discount of 60% to 70%,” he explained. The present parking fees for Type C is at RM5.50, while Type C1 parking is now at RM4.50 for the whole day. The seasonal monthly ticket for Type C is priced at RM50.00 and RM30.00 for Type C1. Iliyas hope that the public will accept the new rates, which according to him, is already very affordable. He said City Hall has done a thorough study on the new rates, which is not too burdening for ratepayers.
