As you may know, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) scrapped all parking meters in the township last year, after terminating parking concessionaire Godell Parking Sdn Bhd in June. Much to the dismay of motorists, the council switched to the “old school” scratch-and-display coupon system as its principal payment system. Well, things are about to get better.
As reported by The Star, MBPJ has announced its Smart Selangor Parking (SSP) app which will go on a pilot run starting 1 May. The app will eliminate the hassle of buying parking coupons, which has been the sole payment method since September last year.
Petaling Jaya mayor Datuk Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain said last year that MBPJ had received 18 proposals from companies interested to introduce mobile app parking solutions. And it looks like the project has come into fruition.
The new system will start its test run at “on-street” parking bays at Dataran Sunway, PJU 5, an area known for its parking issues. There are 1,522 commercial parking bays in the area.
In Petaling Jaya, there’s a total of 24,484 street parking bays.
Motorists can download the app for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play starting 23 April 2018.
To start using the app, motorists will need to register for an account and top up a minimum of MYR10. Through the app, motorists will be able to pay for parking as well as settle compound fines.
MBPJ said the implementation of the new system will not see any changes in parking rates, for now. Parking rates remain at 60 sen per hour, MYR5 per day and MYR100 per month, effective between 8AM and 6.30PM.
The app only requires users to input the street name where the car is parked. It will alert users when parking time limit is up so they will able to top up and extend hours accordingly.
The integration of parking and compound system is the first in the country, MBPJ said. Other local authorities using the app, minus the compound feature, are Shah Alam City Council, Ampang Jaya Municipal Council and Sepang Municipal Council.
Once the new system is officially implemented, it will complement the existing scratch coupons system as a payment option.
I laud MBPJ’s efforts to digitise its services, and this is certainly a more convenient and safer way to pay for parking. I’d also love to see the return of other solutions like kiplePark, which offers similar convenience to people who park in buildings.
For more information about the Smart Selangor Parking app, contact MBPJ at 03-7956 3544 (ext 145, 138 or 132) or visit the official MBPJ website.
Source: Selangor Kini
