Community advisors against coin-less parking meters

The ban on paying for roadside parking with physical legal tender may violate drivers’ rights, António Monteiro, Central District Community Service Advisor, said recently at the May meeting of the advisory committee. He pointed out that the decision to ban payment by physical legal tender had been made without public consultation, considering the change’s massive impact on drivers.

At the meeting, he cited comments from the public about the new policy being inconvenient and at odds with the public will. It is the right of drivers in general including non-locals driving in Macau to be able to pay with any form of legal tender, he said.

He added that had there been a public consultation, the public would still have had an opportunity to have their voices heard.

He further questioned whether a driver with cash but no electronic payment means would see their payment denied. He also worried that one day, the government would shut down all cash payment facilities, forcing people to use electronic payment methods only.

During discussions on the law prohibiting roadside parking fees by physical legal tender, the government admitted that the change was made for its own convenience and that of commissioned service operators.

The reason provided by the government was that sourcing parking meters capable of accepting physical and electronic payment had become increasingly difficult.

Opinions from the public, on the other hand, questioned whether the government would consider introducing more payment facilities, such as accepting a wider range of credit or debit cards. Currently, only the local tap-and-go platform Macau Pass and China’s UnionPay are accepted.

Another advisor, Tai Ka Peng, criticized the government for not fully considering the factor of convenience for the general public on this topic. She added that malfunctioning parking meters are common, criticizing the government’s comment that more malfunctions would occur with payment by coins.