The Bhutanese Leading the way.
In a growing controversy surrounding parking facilities, vehicle owners are raising concerns about the integrity of parking fee collectors who have been accused of overcharging.
Parking fee collectors have denied these allegations, insisting that they are not involved in any malpractice.
One of them is Chitrah Singh, who has been working for KCR Private Limited. He said, “We are just doing our job and following the rules set by the management. We have not been overcharging anyone.”
Thakur Singh said, “We are all different human beings; all of us are not the same. I do not commit malpractice; however, I have heard cases of some parking fee collectors overcharging. In this case, both of them are at fault.”
He said that the vehicle owner could have checked the time before leaving, and the parking fee collectors should not be guilty of malpractice.
However, vehicle owners have come forward with complaints, alleging that they have been charged higher amounts than the prescribed rates.
Tenzin shared his experience with an overcharging parking fee collector, saying, “I parked my car in the core town area, went out, and came back after an hour and few minutes. The guy was charging Nu 100, but it was supposed to be Nu 60.”
In response to the mounting complaints, parking management representatives have acknowledged the situation and assured the public that they are actively investigating the matter.
“We take these allegations seriously and are looking into alternatives to monitor the issue effectively. There is no room for cheating, therefore, if found guilty, we usually fire the parking fee collectors,” said Jigme Tenzin, General Manager of KCR Private Limited.
He further said, “The management is currently exploring various options to enhance transparency, such as installing CCTV cameras at payment counters and entrance/exit points.
Upon asking him about implementing a digital, fully automatic handheld parking ticket machine, he said that they have tried and failed miserably.
He said, “It is easier for the parking fee collectors to do it manually, as we have witnessed delays in the collection and vehicle owners taking advantage of the opportunity and fleeing away.”
This incident caused a significant loss to the company, leading them to switch to old measures. Similarly, he said that the three multi-level car parking facilities are also running at a loss with not many vehicles using the facility, although the chances of malpractice by the parking fee collectors are reduced and the chances of vehicle owners fleeing are reduced.
KCR Pvt. Ltd. said that the company is grappling with a daily fee of Nu 68 for each parking space leased from Thromde.
In recent days, there has been a noticeable increase in incidents where vehicle owners have fled parking premises without paying, leaving fee collectors helpless and further denting the company’s revenue.
It was said that there are many who have fled the scene and never paid.
The general manager said that aggressive confrontations between collectors and non-compliant vehicle owners have created an atmosphere of tension and insecurity.
In a shocking incident, a parking fee collector was physically assaulted when attempting to address a non-payment issue.
Jigme Tenzin said, “A parking fee collector was reportedly slapped recently by a mad vehicle owner who refused to pay the parking fee, claiming that he just parked with the parking lights on.”
He said that with or without your parking lights on, one has to pay if they occupy the parking space.
Parking fee collectors also describe the situation as scary while confronting short-tempered vehicle owners over the fee.
They said, “We let most of them go because we fear what if they come back and bash us up.”
Another issue that came to light was during the night when vehicle owners lurked around late hours just for the parking fee collectors to leave after their shift was over, and then took a chance to flee.
Likewise, the parking fee collectors said that they have been verbally abused by many of the vehicle owners over the charges, threatening them that they are going to call someone in power and get them fixed.
