Foolproof system urged for Jeddah auto parking

JEDDAH – Citizens have expressed their grievances against the company that supervises the prepaid auto parking system in downtown Jeddah saying it was imposing heavy fines on motorists even for a slight delay in removing their vehicles from parking slots after expiry of the parking time. They also pointed out that people are still unaware of the system even after the passage of two and a half years after it was introduced. People should be informed how to park their vehicles and when they are going to impose a fine of SR75 on violators of the system. However, they emphasized the benefits of the system in reducing wrong parking in the city, creating parking places in the heart of the city and preventing monopoly of parking slots. Speaking to Al-Madina Arabic daily, Mohammed Bahumaid said the system has made car parking in central Jeddah more organized. However, he urged authorities to streamline payment of parking fees. “At present fines are imposed soon after parking the vehicle without giving enough time to pay fees,” he added. Abdul Hameed Al-Zahrani said he was unaware of the auto parking system. “I parked my car in front of the gold market street. A passerby advised me to change the parking place to avoid fine. When I returned to the car I found the company’s supervisor was giving instruction to tow my car.” The supervisor asked him either to pay SR200 fine or go to the place where they dump vehicles violating the parking system. He paid the fee but the company official did not give a receipt. Later, Al-Zahrani realized that the supervisor was cheating him. Muneer Mohammed said he was not aware that a five-minute delay in removing the car from the parking slot would make him liable to pay the fine. “I paid for parking one hour and but when I came late by five minutes the supervisor asked me to pay a fine of SR75.” He accused the company of encouraging supervisors to impose fines on motorists to get commission. Abbas Baziyad has another story to tell. He had paid the fee for parking but the supervisor issued the ticket as he failed to leave the payment receipt on the dashboard of his car. Abdullah Bin Saeed Al-Ghamdi, manager of parking at Jeddah Development Company, said the auto parking system was instrumental in reducing traffic bottlenecks in the city. “A parking lot is used by more than 10 vehicles daily, instead of a single vehicle. It has also encouraged people to shop in downtown Jeddah due to availability of parking places,” Al-Ghamdi said, adding that more than 10,000 vehicles benefit from the parking lots daily. The Jeddah municipality said the system created 5,000 parking slots in downtown Jeddah, covering 38 streets in eight places. The parking slots operate from 8 a.m. till 11 p.m. from Saturday to Thursday. No parking fees are imposed on Fridays. Lawyer Khaled Al-Mehmadi said the operating company has no right to tow vehicles that violate the parking system in the city even after signing an agreement with the municipality. He said it is the traffic department’s authority to tow violating vehicles. “People can sue the company at the commercial court if it had caused any damage to the vehicle while towing,” Al-Mehmadi told Al-Madina.