By Noimot Olayiwola/Staff Reporter

 

The company that operates the car parking lot adjacent to Fanar has revised its minimum entry fee from QR15 to QR5 for the first hour and QR3 for subsequent hours following a Gulf Times report published on Thursday.

According to the earlier system, motorists had to pay QR15 as the minimum charge which was collected on entry but the fee was good for three hours.

Al Rayyan Car Parking Management, the operator of the parking lot, has now revised the tariff with the penalty for lost ticket raised to QR100 from the initial QR30.

The notice boards, which were earlier tucked away, have  now been put up at strategic locations across the parking lot after the fees were revised.

The information on the boards had earlier read: entry fee QR3 for first hour and QR1 for subsequent hours and QR30 for lost ticket replacement.

Now it reads: “Entry fee QR5 for first hour; fees are calculated QR3 per hour and for lost ticket, the charge is QR100.”

The parking management has opened a section of the parking earlier reserved for a bank.

Also, the vending machine has been activated as visitors were seen picking tickets on entry.

However, motorists still have to pay in person to the cashier in one of the booths but workmen were seen fixing the payment machines stationed at the exits.

While the decision to revise the fee is being welcomed, a number of visitors to the area still have some reservations, saying the charges are a bit high.

Aside the airport, the parking lot near Fanar is the first within the city precincts to charge QR5 on entry as other places charge less.

“It is a good development that they have changed the system and it’s okay to pay to park a car conveniently but it is not okay to pay too much,” a resident said.

Although,  paid parking is not new to Qatar, some people feared higher charges by one operator could trigger a fee hike in other places too.

Some two years ago, the City Center Doha (CCD) introduced a pay parking scheme, fixing its charges at QR2 for the first hour, QR3 for the second hour, QR3 for the third hour and QR10  for every hour thereafter.

The decision had met with sharp criticisms from shoppers who claimed they were already saddled by rising prices and that it would be an additional burden on their income.

While there are other pay parking facilities in the city such as at Doha International Airport (DIA) and Souq Waqif, the City Center was the first shopping mall to introduce the facility in the country.

At the DIA, cars are parked under its short stay scheme at the rate of QR5 per hour and first 30 minutes QR2. A lost parking ticket attracts a QR35 fine plus the actual number of hours charged.

Also at Souq Waqif, the fees are still QR3 on entry per hour and QR1 for other hours as well as QR30 for a lost ticket replacement.