Thursday, January 07, 2010

Airport visitors wary of ‘metered parking’

By Umair Aziz

LAHORE: Visitors and employees at the Allama Iqbal International Airport have expressed reservations over the planned metered parking system at the airport, Daily Times has learnt.

Although the digital parking systems installed at Liberty Market and The Mall have almost doubled the authorities’ revenue, the systems have been facing various flaws.

People have still not gotten used to the new system of hourly metered parking, despite it being in place at various points for over a year. This has led to arguments between authorities and car owners on numerous occasions.

The proposed system will increase the risk of car theft, people say, as there is no mention of the car’s registration number on the security ticket, and anyone with a parking ticket to make away with the car.

“If such incidents can take place at Liberty and The Mall where a majority of visitors are educated, how can the system work at the airport,” Asif Mehmood, a visitor at the airport said. Most of the people who spoke to Daily Times did not appreciate plans for introducing metered parking. Others said flight delays were becoming routine and hourly parking would be too expensive for the visitors. An employee of the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said the new system would increase revenue, but would be troublesome for many visitors.