Why does any local council charge for parking?
1. Source of revenue to council
2. To manage the limited quantity of parking bays in a particular area

I can't speak with great certainty of the the history of parking charges in Malaysia, but I believe the initial reason is #1 - to raise income for the government. Which is not such a bad thing if the government spends the money productively.

However, coming forward to the present day in 2010 in MPSJ, I would say the motive is somewhat mixed, but leaning towards #2. Due to historical reasons, parking at any commercial area is charged 50sen/hour, be it a single row of shops in a housing area or a commercial district such as Taipan or Bandar Puteri Puchong.

I personally feel there's not much point charging parking in those 1 row shophouses in housing area, where there isn't much competition for parking space (SS18 opposite the police station comes to mind or SS17 near Al-Rajhi). Enforcement is also difficult to do productively.

However, for the business districts, the motive of charging for parking and/or creating parking rules must be and is to manage the limited amounts of parking bays in the area.

The target occupancy rate in these areas should be around 85% to 90%. With this level of occupancy, when people come to the area, it is always possible to find parking, maybe not right infront of the shop they are visiting.

If the parking occupancy is 100%, as is in SS15, then its a hassle for those who need to run errands there. This also will effect the businesses in the area, especially those who rely on walk in customers such as restaurants, etc.

A lot of blame is to be given to the previous administration for poor planning, but today we need to move forward to resolve the parking woes, both for the businesses and also the people who visit the areas concern.

So, how do we bring down the current parking occupancy rate from around 120% -150% today to a comfortable level of 85-90%?

Strategy #1: We implement time limits.
This is what we have done in Taipan, with 1 hour limits. The time 1 hour can be adjusted upwards or downwards to achieve the target occupancy ratio.

Strategy #2: Pricing
By using variable pricing, i.e. in the hotspots RM2/hour, further away 50sen/hour, and further still free parking, that can be a way to manage the demand for parking. That way, those who want to save $$$ need to park further away, and those who want the convenience should pay for it. This would be good to try in areas where only a certain portion of the business district is a hotspot.

Other methods is also to implement time limits/variable fees on certain parking bays only, not a blanket coverage of the whole area. However, with this then lies the problem of making things complicated for the people. A balance must be found.