Charged parking is being revived from the first of July. Of course there will be those who perpetually oppose everything. But this Karachiite is happy. He is optimistic, and has begun hoping that not only will the parking system in the city have some order, but traffic jams will also be eased. I know some Karachiites will be keeping their fingers crossed. A good question could be: How many?

This Karachiite is of the firm view that anger, impatience and negative feelings on city roads are caused by the circumstances that have made car-parking a bigger nightmare than driving. And given the growing security concerns and shrinking canvass of space even for two-wheelers, if society does not pursue the problem in an organised and decent manner, the years ahead can spell chaos.

Ever since the charged parking system came to an end in the city, this Karachiite was bitter and complaining. He kept pointing to the constant increase in the number of cars on roads, and said that one of the negative results was that the traffic congestion was becoming unmanageable. And that we were all suffering because parking had become impossible at many places. The traffic police cannot manage, or they have failed to manage, what is happening on the roads. At best, they would lift a car to detain it and penalise its driver or the owner. “But how far this ‘solution’ to the problem is right?” asked one motorist who is scared to visit shopping areas for the fear that there may be no space for parking his small car and he will have to drive around, looking for a slot to park it.

The city government has announced that from July 1, there will be charged-parking at 11 places in the city. A spokesman for the city government has been quoted as saying that the parking fee at these places will be Rs10 for a car and Rs5 for a two-wheeler. Of course this information is incomplete for the public. There are many questions which need to be answered. For example, what will the timings be?

While one welcomes the revival of charged-parking , it is imperative to underline that citizens need to be taken into confidence and made to realise that charged parking is for their good. There is need for educating people. Some public service advertising could be initiated by the corporate sector as a social responsibility.

Charged parking will hopefully bring sanity and order, to the extent that such a measure can bring. It is a small price to pay for parking a vehicle -- that is if space is available. Besides convenience, it also brings a level of security for the vehicle.

Of course there is need to improve upon the previous experience that we had in the city. In fact, had we continued with the charged parking at that time, and improved upon it, and dealt with the problems that had arisen, it would have done us all a greater good. Of course there were operational problems -- not just related to efficiency and governance which are lacking in the Pakistani society, but even the public was not willing to accept the idea that they had to pay for the space they were using.

There were, for instance, shopkeepers and traders who came to the shopping centres in Sadder or Clifton or elsewhere, who parked their cars all day long in the charged parking lots and paid a paltry sum of Rs30. The public employed, generally speaking, all kinds of ways to hoodwink the system. They sought exemptions all the time, and did not seem to appreciate the fact that the charged parking system was providing employment to hundreds of people. After all unemployment is a monstrous problem that this society is faced with.

Further, the charged parking was generating revenue for the city government, which, as we know, needs it to improve the city. With all its shortcomings, it is in everybody’s interest that the city government succeeds. If the city government gains revenue, I believe there are chances that it will perform better.

But let us return to the theme of charged parking. This system is already in force at a number of places in town. The cantonment boards have continued with it, despite the withdrawal by the city government about 18 months ago. I had supported charged parking then, and do so here again. A five-star hotel charges Rs30 for one-hour parking for a car and it is Rs140 for the whole day. And its car-parking lot remains always almost full. It reflects the number of vehicles that the city has. After all we have been driven to a point where we are planning parking plazas. Have you seen the double and triple parking at so many places in Saddar Town, for example?

To those who oppose charged parking and to those who always find faults in the manner it is implemented, the question to be asked is whether they want the city’s streets and roads, and bazaars and markets, to remain as chaotic as these at present are . This indiscipline will grow beyond imaginable proportions if not arrested, at this stage.

Of course the system has its shortcomings. And because this is a public dealing exercise, its supporters believe that public will have to come forward with a positive attitude. That is, one has to observe rules. This also implies that the city government should do its homework. And the rules and regulations aimed at ensuring that the charged parking lots are politely, yet firmly, administered and are intelligible to the public. This is another area where the charged parking had disappointed people last time.

One hopes that lessons have been learnt from the previous experience. One very vital aspect is that the men who deal with public are well-trained. This means that they are polite, decent, honest and presentable types. Perhaps this is asking for too much, keeping the low wages offered to such staff. Perhaps they need to be paid well than what they were getting in the past. As a society, we are aware of the disadvantages and pitfalls of having lowly paid, which sometimes becomes counterproductive.

On this subject, experience has proved that wherever there is discipline and respect for the rules that are in place, the beneficiaries are the users themselves. Surely, we do value parking in peace and safety, and paying peanuts for it.