The government should clarify regulations concerning parking lots operated privately on private land, which may consequentially increase the number of such facilities in older districts, lawmakers said yesterday.
A parliamentary committee commenced discussions on the bill of the Public Parking Service System yesterday. According to Ella Lei, chair of the committee, the bill mainly focuses on the operations, administration, use, supervision and punishment concerning public parking services.
She assured the press that no regulatory overhaul would be seen.
At the inaugural discussion, some lawmakers pointed out that the government may not be capable of satisfying the need for parking lots at older districts. However, the lawmakers envisioned that, should the government clarify requirements for private parking lots to provide parking services to the public, private operators may be incentivized to provide more public parking spaces.
Currently, Lei said that regulations are not sufficiently clear to identify responsible parties for conflicts or accidents that take place in private parking lots.
On another related subtopic regarding street-side parking meters, the government proposed that in the future, parking meters should only accept electronic means of payment, completely excluding physical currency.
At this stage, parking meters in the city accept both physical and digital payment, although paper money is not accepted. Regarding electronic payment, only local tap-and-go brand Macau Pass and Chinese contactless credit card UnionPay are being accepted, meaning that foreign brands such as VISA and MasterCard are excluded, limiting the choice for drivers.
In support of its proposal, the government noted in its introductory document that digital payment methods have grown in popularity in the city, in addition to the difficulties sourcing parking meters that accept coins. Moreover, the government noted that systems that take coins will have higher maintenance costs and take up more space.
Lawmakers did not buy into the government’s explanation, calling for more supporting facts to justify migrating parking meters exclusively to e-payment considering that both cash and digital payment are legal tender. The lawmakers were also concerned with what other brands of digital payment the government would consider adding to future parking meters; and also with how parking fees would be determined.
The government is proposing that both open bidding and direct negotiation will be acceptable means to designate operating rights. Parking lot licenses will be valid for seven years, with extensions of up to three years.
