Reprinted: Starting from December 1st, on-street parking in Taipei will fully implement charge management

On-street parking management may already be a management problem faced by major cities around the world. How to strike a balance between ensuring traffic and fire protection space and taking into account temporary parking needs is a lot of brains. Across the Taiwan Strait, Taipei City has made a new attempt. Starting from December 1, all car parking spaces on all roads (streets, roads, and alleys) in the city will be fully charged, in order to make the roads smoother and easier to drive.

Zheng Lishu, Section Chief of the Operations Section of the Taipei Parking Management Engineering Office, introduced that on December 1, a comprehensive charge for on-street parking spaces will be implemented. "The main purpose is not to charge, but to manage." Smooth vehicle traffic and fire and disaster relief space, while taking into account the temporary parking needs.

Zheng Lishu said that the full charge time for on-street parking spaces is: 9:00-17:00 from Monday to Saturday, and no charge on Sunday.

Zheng Lishu pointed out that there are currently two charging methods, namely charging by time and charging by time. According to different road sections, small cars are charged at 20 yuan (NT$, the same below), 30 yuan, 40 yuan, 50 yuan, and 60 yuan per hour, and large vehicles are charged double; Yuan, but the limit is 20 minutes.

According to Taiwan media statistics, there were 32,171 paid on-street parking spaces in Taipei City before, and the annual parking fee revenue was 1.4 billion yuan; after the implementation of the new system, the number of paid on-street parking spaces will increase by 10,315, and the annual revenue will increase by 310 million yuan.

Interpretation: "Charges are not the purpose, there is no need to charge to ensure smooth flow"

Starting from December 1, Taipei City will implement a comprehensive charge for on-street parking spaces. Zheng Lishu, Section Chief of the Operations Section of the Taipei City Parking Management Engineering Office, explained this in detail in an interview with a reporter from the Herald.

Scope: Full charges for parking spaces on streets, roads and alleys

Herald reporter: Was there a charge for parking on the street in Taipei before? How to understand the word "comprehensive"?

Zheng Lishu: According to relevant laws and regulations, on-street parking spaces on some roads in Taipei City are charged, but we had statistics at the beginning of this year that half of the more than 50,000 on-street parking spaces in Taipei City do not charge fees. And these no-charge on-street parking spaces are sometimes occupied by private long-term parking, especially in some alleys. Such occupation makes it impossible for people and vehicles to pass normally, and the public has many complaints. In order to ensure public access and fire and disaster relief space, and to take into account the needs of temporary parking on the roadside, we implement fee management. By September this year, all parking spaces on streets and roads in the urban area will be charged, and from December 1st, parking spaces including all "alleys" will also be charged. Therefore, the so-called "comprehensive" refers to all charges for all parking spaces on streets, roads and alleys.

Herald reporter: Is there any special handling?

Zheng Lishu: Yes, we have launched a "Neighborhood Traffic Improvement Plan", which is applied to the municipal government in units of "li". If the traffic conditions in the "li" can "reach the standard", it can guarantee the passage of people and vehicles and the space for fire and disaster relief. 6 Alleyside parking spaces with a width of less than 1 meter can be free of charge; if they cannot "reach the standard", they will be charged even if they are less than 6 meters wide.

Fee rate: "Timer" is not capped, "Timer" is limited

Herald reporter: What is the rate standard for on-street parking in Taipei City?

Zheng Lishu: We charge in accordance with the "Taipei Municipal Parking Lot Autonomy Regulations on Parking Charge Rates". Currently, there are two charging standards: "Timed" and "Timed". "Timed" tolls have different toll rates for different road sections. Taking small cars as an example, there are five rates: 20 yuan, 30 yuan, 40 yuan, 50 yuan, and 60 yuan per hour. The longer the stay, the higher the fee. The total fee is not capped; large vehicles will be charged double. Therefore, if you stay for a long time, we recommend parking in an outdoor parking lot instead of parking on the street. Of course, we calculate in units of "half an hour". As for the "metered" fee, take a small truck as an example, 30 yuan per trip, but the parking limit is 20 minutes, and it will be considered a violation if it exceeds 20 minutes.

Herald reporter: What standards are used to classify different road sections, different toll rates, and whether to use "time-based" or "time-based" charges?

Zheng Lishu: It is mainly divided according to the degree of busyness and congestion of the roads. For example, the parking spaces on the roadside near the bustling commercial districts and large department stores must be in high demand, so the rate will be set at a high standard, that is, 40 yuan or 50 yuan per hour. , even 60 yuan. Where there is less demand for on-street parking, rates are lower. Generally speaking, the road sections with low standard tolls account for the vast majority. As for the "time-based" fee, except for Beitou District and Wenshan District, which use more "time-based" fees, other districts often use "time-based" fees.

Time: Monday to Saturday 9:00-17:00

Herald reporter: Is there a daily fee for on-street parking?

Zheng Lishu: Our purpose of charging is not the purpose, but the purpose is management, to ensure the passage of people and vehicles as well as fire and disaster relief space. Therefore, our charging time is from Monday to Saturday from 9:00 to 17:00. There is no charge at other times.

Herald reporter: Why do you have to collect every Saturday?

Zheng Lishu: Because some industries and some laborers in Taiwan still need to go to work on Saturdays, their right of passage must be guaranteed. After the "weekend" (Saturday and Sunday) is fully implemented on January 1 next year, we will cancel the weekly Saturday fee.