Martin Li

    martin.mouse@163.com

    AS the roadside parking rules took effect yesterday in some districts, many drivers chose to park their cars in off-road lots to pay a lower price, according to Che Xiaoping, an officer with the road safety management center of the city’s transport commission.

    Prior to the implementation of the parking fees, it was often difficult — if not impossible — to find parking spots in Zhuzilin in Futian District, one of the four pilot areas for the roadside parking fee collection program. Yesterday morning, however, spots alongside roads in the area were mostly vacant.

    The new fees are much higher than the cost of commercial parking lots, even in the central areas of the city; for instance, parking for an entire day in one of the four areas now costs 265 yuan.

    In the pilot areas, roadside parking fees are required to be paid between 7:30 a.m. and 9 p.m. each day. On weekdays, it costs 5 yuan for the first half an hour and 10 yuan for each subsequent hour.

    Aside from the high costs, some drivers complained about the time-consuming process of registering and adding money to the accounts used for payments. Others were simply disgruntled at the entire idea of paying for roadside parking.

    It took one resident, surnamed Zhang, almost 20 minutes to complete the registration, add money to the account and pay to park on a road in Zhuzilin yesterday, even though he was assisted by employees of the transportation commission.

    “I’m not familiar with the process at all. What should I do without the assistance?” Zhang said in an interview with SZTV.

    Drivers will not be fined for their first roadside parking offense due to the time-consuming payment process, according to the commission.

    Local Chinese-language media - including newspapers, radio and TV stations - repeatedly covered program before it was launched. However, many drivers still seem to be unaware of its details.

    People are able to register and add money to their accounts by either logging onto www.szrtc.cn or downloading a mobile phone app called Yitingche (宜停车).

    In addition, they can also pay in cash at designated locations, including selected newsstands and convenience, electronics and grocery stores.

    Shenzhen launched the pilot roadside charging scheme to discourage residents to use their vehicles. The other three pilot areas are central Nanshan, Tianbei and central Futian.

    The pilot scheme will apply to another 15,000 parking spots by the end of this year, according to the transportation commission.