TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Jakarta Legislative Council (DPRD) announces that it supports the city’s administration plan to increase parking fees in areas with sufficient access to main public transportation.

Jakarta Council’s regional regulation forming board, Pantas Nainggolan, says that board members are waiting for the revision on parking fees to be submitted, which is overseen in the Governor’s regulation No.31/2017.

“The condition of Jakarta’s streets is already too congested. A proper form of limitation must be applied,” said Pantas Nainggolan to Tempo on Thursday, March 5.

Increasing parking fees in Jakarta had been talked about since the city’s administration became the target of relentless criticism regarding its air pollution levels from numerous groups.

The administration itself blames the high pollution levels on emissions produced by motorized vehicles, which the city claims contribute to 75 percent of the total number. Official reports say that 3.9 million cars and 14.7 million motorcycles operated in the city in 2018.

Pantas argues that residents of major cities, such as Jakarta, must already apply a healthy lifedata-style which involves the mix of public transportation and walking to commute.

“There is plenty of good public transportation nowadays. Even though they cover short-distance routes,” said Pantas.

The Jakarta Transportation Agency is eyeing to implement the new parking fee regulation midway through 2020 as the Governor’s Decree No.31/2017 revision is currently being composed. The 2017 regulation charges cars a maximum of Rp12,000 per hour while motorcycles are charged up to Rp6,000 per hour.

FRANSISCO ROSARIANS