SEASON PARKING CHARGES FOR URA/HDB HEAVY VEHICLE PARKING LOTS (Deferment of implementation of increased charges)

Mr Tay Beng Chuan asked the Minister for National Development whether his Ministry will consider (i) deferring the implementation of the increased season parking charges for Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA)/Housing and Development Board heavy vehicles parking lots located within 3 km of public housing estates in order to relieve the cost pressure and hardships of our businesses during this trying financial turmoil; and (ii) lowering the parking charges for the under-utilised URA heavy vehicle parking lots located outside of 3 km of housing estates to improve the poor demand for such parking lots.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Speaker, Sir, let me explain the situation. First, there is a big difference in season parking charges for heavy vehicle parks. The HDB and URA charge between $60 and $120 per month. In comparison, the charges for equivalent private heavy vehicle parks are between $160 and $180 per month. Second, there is also a big mismatch in the supply and demand. There is currently very strong demand for heavy vehicle lots within 3 km of housing estates. URA manages some 4,300 of such lots within 3 km of housing estates, but has a waiting list of nearly 2,500 applicants. In contrast, there are some 6,000 heavy vehicle lots outside the 3 km radius operated by the private sector which are not taken up. So there is a need to make some adjustments.

With effect from 1st July 1998, the season parking charges for public heavy vehicle parks within 3 km of housing estates will be revised to between $65 and $130, an increase of only between $5 and $10. This is the first revision in nine years. This revision is necessary to meet these two mismatches, as I have explained earlier.

Mr Tay also asked whether the URA can lower the parking charges for under-utilised URA heavy vehicle parking lots outside the 3 km radius. There is, in fact, no under-utilisation of URA heavy vehicle lots outside the 3 km radius. Out of the 6,000 heavy vehicle lots outside this radius that are not taken up, only 77 are URA lots. So URA pricing is at the right level.

Mr Low Thia Khiang (Hougang): Sir, would the Minister explain how does the increase in season parking charges solve the problem of mismatch?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: If we have 4,000 lots and there are another 2,500 on the waiting list, obviously, the price is too low for the lots within 3 km of the housing estates. At the same time, there are 6,000 lots outside the 3 km radius which are under-utilised. So we have to adjust the prices of the URA lots nearer town and we hope the private sector will lower the charges of the lots outside the 3 km radius. Then there will be a better matching of supply and demand.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, the mismatch may not necessarily be due to price factors but due to the location of the heavy vehicle parks, because it would be more convenient for vehicle owners or drivers to park their vehicles near their homes, which are normally in the HDB estates.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Obviously, being nearer the housing estates is more convenient and therefore a person should pay a higher price for that convenience. So, today, we have a situation where if a driver is lucky to get a lot in the URA heavy vehicle parks within 3 km of housing estates, he pays a lower price. And those who cannot get a lot will just wait forever for a lot. If a person is unlucky to get a lot, then he pays a higher price further away from his housing estate. This is not a sensible way to run heavy vehicle parks. So we need to make the adjustment - URA to raise its charges a little and the private sector to lower their charges a little.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Does the Minister not think that to solve the problem of heavy vehicle parks and also for the convenience of the drivers, the answer should be to build more heavy vehicle parks near HDB estates, rather than raising the price?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: We do build heavy vehicle lots but there is a premium on land within the housing estates. And this is a historical situation where drivers of heavy vehicles have got used to the convenience of driving their heavy vehicles within the housing estates and sometimes park in the private housing estates next to the HDB estates. As Members will remember some 7-8 years ago, we made it mandatory for them to park in designated lots and not park illegally along public roads.

This is an anomaly. If one is a driver of a tour bus, he is not allowed to bring his tour bus to his housing estate. There are designated parking lots for tour buses. Similarly, if a person is a driver of an SBS or TIBS bus, he does not drive his bus to his housing estate. But for heavy vehicles, we have this historical practice and therefore we are slowly moving away from this practice, and requiring the heavy vehicle drivers to park their heavy vehicles either in the factory or in the industrial estate where their vehicles are operating and then take public transport back to their homes.

Mr Chuang Shaw Peng (Nominated Member): Sir, I understand that many lorry drivers work in shifts and they sometimes finish work very late. Usually, they carry a bicycle at the back of their lorries so that they can cycle home. Can the Minister look into the issue of how to improve the transportation from the heavy vehicle parks to the HDB estates? I believe that people choose the nearby heavy vehicle parks because they can ride their bikes to their homes. If it is more than 5 km, it probably takes an hour to ride the bike home.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Mr Chuang is right. We are beginning to see more and more lorry drivers installing bikes on their heavy vehicles, especially on a prime mover, and this makes a lot of sense. If a driver is operating on a late night shift, he parks in the industrial estate nearest his home and he cycles home.

I think there is no way that we can meet the demand for a lorry driver to have his lorry parked next to his home. It causes a lot of inconvenience. They start up their vehicles at 5 am and they disturb the estate. So we have to have properly designated heavy vehicle lots, both within our housing estates as well as outside the housing estates, and let the market pricing mechanism settle the preferences of individuals on wherever they want to park.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Sir, does the Minister agree that it is for the Ministry's convenience to settle the issue and to solve the problem of heavy vehicle parking lots by just raising the season parking charges on the pretext that there is a mismatch rather than solving the problem by building more season parking parks within 3 km of HDB estates? I am not talking of building it in the heart of HDB estates.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: Obviously, Mr Low does not walk around his housing estate. When he says within 3 km, he is talking about right in the middle of his housing estate. Most of us have constituencies where heavy vehicle parks are within our housing estates, and it is not possible to find more and more of such places. This is premium space and we have 2,500 on the waiting list. There is no way that they are going to get the lots. So the guy who has got a lot, he is enjoying a premium. We have to make the adjustment. It has been nine years since we raised the fees. Our costs of operating these heavy vehicle parks have gone up and we are making a small adjustment up and we are hoping the private sector will also make a small adjustment down, and then the market can work its way to allocate the supply and demand appropriately.

Mr Low Thia Khiang: Has the Minister considered building multi-storey heavy vehicle parks?

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: In which case, the charges would double.