'Shocked' because the price of parking on the sidewalk and road in Hanoi increased by 300%
Hanoi has increased the fee for using the road and sidewalks, from January 1, 2018, to the highest level of 300% in many inner-city districts. This has led to the price of parking motorbikes and cars also increasing many times, making people shocked. The highest fee for a car with less than 9 seats to park overnight is up to 4 million VND/month/car...
With the highest option of increasing fees by 3 times and collecting by square meter, Hanoi Department of Transport estimates that the revenue for 2018 will be 113.4 billion VND.
According to the Hanoi People's Committee, from January 1, 2018, sidewalk usage fees will increase by about 300% on 12 streets in Hoan Kiem district.
In addition, the areas from the center to Ring Road 3 will also be adjusted to increase by 200% with streets from Ring Road 1 to the core urban area. From Ring Road 2 to Ring Road 1 and from Ring Road 3 to Ring Road 2 will increase by 130%. The fee from outside Ring Road 3 to the suburban area will remain the same.
Particularly for points applying smart parking technology (iPaking), it is proposed to collect fees at a rate of 30% of revenue.
The parking fee for cars under 9 seats on 12 central streets of Hoan Kiem district such as Ly Thai To, Nguyen Xi, Dinh Le, Tran Hung Dao, Ly Thuong Kiet... is 60,000 VND/2-hour session (previously 30,000 VND/2-hour session); 3 million VND/month during the day; 4 million VND/month for both day and night. The remaining streets of Hoan Kiem district cost 50,000 VND/2-hour session; 2 million VND/month during the day; 3 million VND/month at night.
For streets within Ring Road 3, the price is 30,000 - 40,000 VND/trip for 2 hours; from 1.5 million - 1.8 million VND/month.
The area outside Ring Road 3 has not yet increased prices. "Thus, with the option of increasing the highest fee by 3 times and collecting by square meter, the Department of Transport estimates that the revenue for 2018 will be 113.4 billion VND," said a representative of Hanoi Parking Lot Exploitation Company Limited.
Mr. Ngo Manh Tuan, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Department of Transport, said that the city is currently lacking parking spaces, so increasing parking prices is considered a solution to reduce personal vehicles entering the city center, contributing to reducing congestion.
Mr. Tuan also affirmed that increasing parking fees by 3 times compared to before may encounter some reactions, but the price has been decided by the city so it cannot be adjusted.
Currently, the total number of parking spots on the road and sidewalks licensed by the Department of Transport and districts is 653; the total area of use is 124,900m2. Of which, there are 403 parking spots with fees and 250 spots without fees. The number of spots licensed by the Department of Transport is 237 (mainly on the road), the districts licensed 416 spots (mainly on the sidewalk).
Currently, parking lot fees are calculated in two ways: by revenue (maximum is 6% of revenue/month) and by square meter (maximum is 80,000 VND/square meter/month). However, in addition to officially licensed parking lots, there are also many spontaneous, off-the-grid parking lots that are also arbitrarily increasing prices.
Mr. Bui Danh Lien, Chairman of the Hanoi Transport Association, said that Hanoi's agreement to triple the fee for using roads and sidewalks, and then continuing to impose a triple traffic fee, was too high and unreasonable. This also placed a financial burden on car users.
According to Dr. Pham Sy Liem, increasing the price of parking services is right, but there must be a roadmap and an appropriate increase level, avoiding shocking fee increases. In addition, there must be transparent and clear management measures, avoiding individuals taking advantage to make profits, losing the state budget, and directly affecting people's lives.
According to a survey, in some areas in Thanh Xuan, Cau Giay, Nam Tu Liem, and Bac Tu Liem districts (outside the Ring Road 3 area), many parking lots have become popular because of the large number of cars from inside the Ring Road 3 that have flocked to park overnight. Some spontaneous parking lots have begun to flourish, increasing their toll rates.