Life of Guangzhou - Parking Fee Rules Tightened in SZ

Parking-lot operators in Shenzhen will be fined up to 200,000 yuan (US$25,000) if they are found guilty of collecting parking fees without proper authorization, Wednesday's Shenzhen Evening News reported.

All operators of parking lots must clearly display their parking fees and abide by the pricing policy set by the municipal government, the Evening News report said, quoting a new regulation on parking fees for vehicles that will take effect Sept. 1. The new regulation will mainly target parking lots in the new city center.

Under the new regulation, boards displaying parking fees must be put up at the entrance or on the fee-collection booth of a parking lot. The board should also display the license number of the parking lot, parking hours and a telephone number for complaints. Different charging standards will be set for the parking lots in different zones.

The municipal pricing bureau will inspect all parking lots in the city next month to see if the new regulation has been enforced. Operators of parking lots found to be charging more or less than the fees set by the government will be punished. Illegal profits will be confiscated and a fine of between 20,000 yuan and 200,000 yuan will be imposed.

The public is welcome to call the hotline 12358 to file complaints relating to the city's parking lots.

Operators of the city's parking lots are taking a wait-and-see attitude to the new pricing scheme, the Evening News report said. An employee of Kingglory Plaza surnamed Xi said the parking lot at the plaza had been built for the convenience of consumers, not for profit. "For the time being, we don't have a plan to increase the parking fee," Xi said.

An employee of the Moi department store in Huaqiangbei also expressed his worry that the fee rise would discourage consumers from visiting the store. He said they would take some measures to reduce the burden imposed on the consumers due to the fee rise.The majority of local residents contacted by the Shenzhen Evening News talked about their own ways of coping with the rise. Some said they would try to park in residential compounds near their office or resort to taxi or subway when going shopping.

According to the new regulation, parking lots in the city's housing estates will charge the same amount of fees for cars parked in the open and in the underground parking lots.