A parking meter and some enthusiastic attendants on Jl Sabang. Photo: Twitter/@BillyYuriko
We’ve seen all sorts of tukang parkir (aka parking attendants) in the city, from young boys and preman to actual official and uniformed parking attendants. But whether they’re official, informal of semi-criminal, we usually know to pay around Rp 2,000 to the attendant if we’ve parked our car on the side of their street.
But the city government, through the Jakarta Transportation Agency, is trying to regulate and make all parking in the city official.
Starting August 1, official parking attendants will be required to produce a parking ticket to people who park their vehicles on the side of the street. Cars will be charged a flat fee of Rp 5,000 and motorcycles Rp 2,000, regardless of the duration of the parking.
While that is double what we usually pay, the upside is we don’t have to pay if we’re not handed a ticket.
“So if citizens don’t receive a ticket, they shouldn’t pay to park. Those who don’t get a ticket [when they park] means their parking attendant is unofficial,” said Sunardi Sinaga, head of Parking at Jakarta’s Transportation Agency, as quoted by Kompas yesterday.
It’s at the parking attendant’s discretion to hand the ticket to the driver just after they have parked or when they’re about to leave.
If your parking attendant doesn’t hand you a ticket, our advice is to know who you’re dealing with before you decide to just drive off. If the area is run by a bunch of preman thugs, then it’s probably best to cut your losses and pay the unofficial parking attendant around Rp 2,000 before you leave.
