PARKING: PUBLIC SERVICE AND PUBLIC GOOD

Source:  The Telegraph

Manila’s streets are heavily congested, traffic is already a nightmare.  You can say that there are just too many cars in Manila.  Then again one cannot blame people for buying or wanting to buy cars, as cars are an object of desire—a thing to be owned for its own sake, as well as being a convenient, cost-effective and safe way of going around the country. 

Indeed, a car is easily attainable for most of the middle class—thirty thousand pesos can already get you an old “Boxtype” Lancer or “Owner” Jeep.

30 grand and you’re already spoiled for choice

            Yet most of the time, these extra cars are just extra mass—dead weight, both on the Megalopolis’ infrastructure and its society.

Watch your car boyzzz

Photo Courtesy of villageidiotsavant.com

            Top Gear Presenter James May writes.

The real problem, however, contrary to much popular belief, is not cars being driven, but cars not being driven. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve used quite a bit of public transport for long journeys, and I’ve worked out that in the past 336 hours the Fiat Panda has been in use for only eight of them, or a pathetic 2.4 per cent of the time. For 97.6 per cent of the time it’s been sitting outside by the road gathering pigeon poo. At any given time a handful of cars is doing something useful but most of the rest are simply in the way.

I don’t doubt that the issue could be partly resolved if we all bought a Smart ForTwo or a G-Wiz, but then we would simply be substituting one social problem with another, most probably widespread depression and low self-esteem.

I also have a sneaking suspicion that most Smarts are bought by rich people as a city runabout rather than as a replacement for an existing car, which means there are now one and a half cars on the street where there used to be only one.

I therefore conclude that what we really need, in the absence of any emerging folding car technology, is more garages.

            Indeed such a public service is the provision of parking lots that many frequent goers to the Makati City Hall (mostly lawyers who have business in the courts) defend the overpriced parking lot that the Dark Lord built there as having provided an essential service to the all who have business with city hall.

            Legislation

Valenzuela Representative Sherwin Gatchalian recently filed two consecutively numbered House Bill No. 5099 (“Parking Fees Regulation Act”) House Bill No. 5098 (“Proof of Parking Space Act”) about parking.

Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin "Win" Gatchalian

Source:  Inquirer.net

House Bill No. 5099 provides: 

[A] standard parking fee of only P40 per vehicle for up to eight hours and additional P10 for every succeeding hour. A one-time fee of P100 per vehicle will be imposed for overnight parking.

In particular, those who have purchased at least P1,000 worth of goods or services will have their parking fee waived, provided that they have used the parking space for three hours or less.

As for safety, business establishments will be required to provide security in parking spaces. If they opt to collect parking fees, shops will be liable for loss of property or damage to customers' vehicles.

Any person or establishment violating the Act will be made to pay a fine of at least P150,000 per overcharged customer or a prison term of one to three years.

“Consumers, especially those in Metro Manila and urban areas, have no choice but to pay the excessive parking fees imposed by malls and other establishments even if these businesses already profit from the sale of their products and services,” Gatchalian said. “The key is to strike an equitable middle ground that will afford consumers the necessary protections without excessively hampering the ability of legitimate parking enterprises from conducting fair and profitable business.”

House Bill No. 5098 on the other hand:

Gatchalian proposed that buyers of brand-new cars, whether individuals or firms, be mandated to execute an affidavit indicating the availability of an existing parking space for the vehicle to be bought. The said affidavit shall be certified by a notary public.

Gatchalian pointed out that motor vehicle owners should be made responsible to provide a permanent parking space for their own private vehicles, whether this is made an integral part of their house or building structure, or is a leased facility.

The Act also orders the Land Transportation Office to make such affidavit a prerequisite in the registration of vehicles. The LTO, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and other concerned local government units are mandated to make ocular inspections in implementing the Act.

Owners found making untrue claims shall have their vehicle registration revoked and will be banned from registering a motor vehicle under their name for three years. Violators will also be fined P50,000.

LTO personnel who allow the registration of vehicles despite knowing the falsity of the affidavit, or without the required document, shall be suspended for three months without pay.

“Although it is good news for the automotive industry, it is bad news for Metro Manila motorists and commuters who must brace themselves for slower traffic as more cars join the vehicle population,” Gatchalian explained. “And traffic congestion in the capital is worsened by the idle vehicles parked on the sides of streets, hampering the flow of automobile and foot traffic.”

I approve of both these measures for reasons that a new industry of parking establishments will be created and congestion will be alleviated.  I discuss these below.

One thing I did notice however was that this was not the first time anyone from the House of Representatives tried to pass a law to regulate parking.  In the 15^th Congress there were a number of measures filed but as far as I know, none of these ever made law. 

 

Source:  House of Representatives Website

This was of course, the 15^th Congress—the most pork barrel charged congress our country has ever had—this was the congress that impeached the Chief Justice and tried to impeach the Ombudsman.  This is the Congress that swims in DAP.  It was a Congress so distracted with money-making activities that it forgot that its duty was to legislate.  Implementation of the law is yet another concern…haaay Pilipinas.

            We’ll just have to wait and see.

The Start of a New Industry

With the passage of these laws, parking spaces will become coveted real estate.  No longer would families vacate their garages to make extra space for their homes and instead park their cars on the street.  There will be people willing to buy and lease them for convenience.  Indeed, this will herald the growth of a new industry to operate parking establishments. 

In Makati CBD, Ortigas, Taguig and Alabang, interspersed among the skyscrapers are parking lots—basically empty asphalt lots with painted rows indicating parking slots.  But I have yet to see a purpose built parking building in a business district open for the public which caters specifically to nearby establishments and buildings.  In Eastwood, I know of some people who live in a nearby condominium but they park their car at a mall.

Needless to say, the only ones now that have an incentive to build large purpose built parking buildings are malls, hotels and condominiums.  With these laws, malls may no longer have an incentive to build more parking space as they won’t profit from its operation anymore.  Instead, for profit parking establishments will provide the much needed service.  In the cities, we may see the rise of multi-storey parking lots.  Subdivisions may soon start to provide them in order to earn extra profit for homeowners who want to own more than one car.  Condominiums may soon start building more expansive parking lots, possibly with a 2:1 parking lot to condo unit ratio for purposes of lease.

We may also see the rise of the “reserved” parking slot within parking buildings.  As people buy or lease more and more parking slots, there is a danger that slots for drivers casually driving into a place for some quick business or visit will become so rare because almost all of the space is taken up by the reserved slots (which may or may not be occupied).  Thus there is a danger that not all of the space in a parking lot or building will be utilized—a eerie phenomenon where there are lots of empty spaces in a vast parking lot which no one from the outside who needs a space can park in.  Such a Phenomenon can be avoided by legislating that a parking establishment keep at least half or 50% of its parking slots open for visitors.  However the free market may obviate the need for legislation because we know that the most profitable slot is a slot where people pay 10 pesos every hour, instead of a slot rented out for P3,000.00 per month.  Thus a parking establishment will have to keep slots open.

We may also see the rise of a “full-service” parking establishment.  Imagine a building, five storeys tall with a five level basement.  Such a building has the capacity to accommodate 1,000 cars—one hundred cars for each level.  Some space can be rented out to car mechanics and service stations.  They can sell fuel (including electricity for electric cars), tires, batteries and all manner of car parts, fluids and services on site!  Think of the profits—a single slot can make P240.00 pesos a day if it is rented out at ten pesos an hour. 

Parking buildings can be built cheaply as well, especially those which incorporate a modular design and steel construction.  Labor is cheap since one only needs to hire security guards and parking attendants. 

            If these bills become laws, we may soon find highly efficient parking establishments.  To get some idea of what I am talking about, check this article on Web Urbanist.

Parking as a Public Service

The provision of parking establishments is a public service.  They clear up space on the streets so that traffic can flow smoothly, they can improve the desirability of the area and profitability of surrounding businesses.  Indeed, businesses may soon find that a place near a parking establishment will be more frequented than one which is not.  This is because I anticipate that a customer will go a shop or office where he can be sure that he can readily park his car and in our consumption-based economy, this is essential.

Safety will be improved.  Carnappers will be discouraged to break into cars at a parking establishment for the simple reason that they expect a parking establishment to be more heavily watched.  Indeed, customers will expect and demand greater safety from parking lots since they will assume that the success of such a business will depend upon the goodwill of its patrons—an unsafe establishment or one that has a poor reputation will not enjoy such goodwill.

Conclusion

I think that a part of the Philippine congestion problem is the lack of parking lots.  Let’s face it, cars are cheap enough for the middle class.  This means that a lot of cars are put on the road, and stay “on the road” even when not in use.  In the cities, parking space is highly sought after, and is a factor to consider when doing something as simple as eating out at a restaurant or buying groceries.  The search for parking space unnecessarily consumes fuel and is a strain on the earth’s resources.  Lastly a car parked out on the street, is a target for vandals and carnappers. 

I hope that the bill gets passed and entrepreneurs see that as a viable business opportunity and a chance to offer a public service.