About seven in ten public off-street carparks managed
by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) and the Urban
Redevelopment Authority (URA) already operate under the electronic
parking system, and the plan is to eventually phase out coupon
parking altogether, said Senior Minister of State for National
Development Desmond Lee on Tuesday (Feb 7).
Mr Lee, speaking in Parliament, said that as of
December, 1,537 out of 2,104 public off-street carparks managed by
URA and HDB operate under the electronic system.
On-street carparks, such as kerbside parking with site
constraints and carparks affected by impending redevelopment, are
unsuitable for electronic parking systems and the two government
agencies are exploring new parking technology.
New coupons were issued in line with higher public
carpark charges that took effect in December. Workers’ Party
Non-Constituency Member of Parliament Leon Perera had asked if
motorists could continue to use old parking coupons at pro-rated
rates.
Mr Lee said that there is no need for the authorities
to allow this, because there are enough parking coupons for
exchange at the majority of petrol stations, as well as at HDB
branches and the URA.
At the same time, enforcement officers are issuing
advisory notices instead of parking-offence notices to motorists
who are still using the old coupons, who may have overlooked the
change during this transition period, Mr Lee said, adding that the
volume of sale and exchange of coupons has now stabilised.
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