Boredworkers.com

Was at Mid Valley last weekend and noticed new signs indicating a change in parking rates effective 26th March 2007. Subsequently, I received a memo indicating the change and the new rates. Essentially, they are changing from a fixed entry fee to an hourly charge scheme. The rates indicated in the memo as follows:

Mid Valley Parking Memo

The new rates shouldn’t affect casual visitors to Mid Valley. By casual, I mean patrons who drop by for 3 hour shopping sprees, stock up their pantries at the supermarkets, or hang out with friends and catch a movie. Those directly impacted by the rate change are those who have to park there on a daily basis for extended hours, including office workers, tenants, and outlet staff.

Exceptions
If you take a closer look at the rates, you’ll notice that there is a time segmentation bordering at midnight and 7am. This begs the question. How will I be charged if my parking period straddles the two segments? For example, what if I came in at 10pm to watch a late night movie at GSC and left at 1am? Will I be charged double for the 3 hour block (e.g. RM2 on weekdays and RM6 on weekends)?!

This is a very valid question. To get the answer, I called up Mid Valley City Sdn. Bhd. who issued the memo. After being passed around several times, I finally got hold of a nice lady named Janet who walked me through the new parking charges.

Provided you enter before midnight, the following charges apply:

Basically, the Mid Valley parking system works on a 24 hour block starting at 7am. The first three hours, you’ll be charged RM1 (or RM3 on weekends). Each of the next 4 hours (up to midnight), you get charged RM1. The next 10 hour block after that (till midnight) is RM1. The next three hours after midnight is RM1. Subsequent hours till 5am is charged a flat rate of RM1. The hours between 5am and 7am are free. That is the tiered system that the parking software applies. Of course, there are exceptions to this.

If you enter after midnight on weekends and public holidays, you’ll be charged RM3 for the first 3 hours. The minimum charge per entry is RM1, so if you enter between 5am and 7am, the hours are NOT free since you’ll be charged RM1. The 24 hour block rolls over at 7am, that means you’ll be charged again if you leave after that.

Although they’ve explained the full parking scheme, it is still open to interpretation. According to Janet’s explanation and my own interpretation, you WILL be double charged. For weekdays, you’ll be charged RM1 + RM1, and on weekends/public holidays, RM3 + RM1. The double charge is worse if you enter before 7 am and leave after the day rolls over. Bear that in mind if you decide to go in early for work or gym (California Fitness), and when you go for late night shows.

I guess we’ll just have to wait for the new charges to take effect and experiment to find out for sure. Any volunteers? I doubt I’ll have the luxury to do so over the coming weeks.

Season Parking
Those who park for extended periods will find that they’ll pay around RM5 for a full office day. That’s a huge increase over their normal parking expenditure. If you work 5 day weeks, you’ll be paying roughly RM100 monthly.

Fret not. For those who are interested, Mid Valley does provide season parking with a monthly charge of RM60, paid quarterly (RM180 for 3 months). A non-refundable one time fee of RM10 will be charged for the parking sticker and a refundable fee of RM10 for the season pass ticket. Space is limited and subject to approval from management on a first come first served basis. Tenants of office blocks and shop lease should speak to their respective management.

That’s A Wrap
All in, this is a pretty good move by Mid Valley management. They get more revenue and cater more to the shoppers. With this new scheme, office workers who take advantage of the flat parking rates will have to look for alternatives, which in turn frees up more space for the casual visitors.

Anyway, take note of this and try not to look too surprised when you get charged more for parking the next time you drop by Mid Valley.