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Shortage of space fuels parking lot rip-offs
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Private parking lots which have proliferated in HCMC’s District 1 openly flout price regulations.
The tickets stated that the parking fee was VND2,000 (US$0.12) but the attendants charged VND3,000 ($0.18).

“You should be happy to find a parking lot. If you don’t want that price, just clear off,” the attendant said.

Parking rip-offs like this are becoming more common near Ben Thanh Market in District 1. As the market doesn’t have a proper parking lot, many households nearby have been providing the service to market-goers for years.

But even then demand outstrips supply, paving the way for exorbitant fees.

In a queue to get in one of the parking lots, Phuong from District 8, told Thanh Nien she had once offered to pay VND20,000 for her bike because everywhere was full.

The HCMC municipal administration regulations stipulate city wide parking fees for motorbikes range from VND2,000 to VND3,000 each time. Motorbike owners have to pay the highest fee only when they park their vehicles in the evening at recreational centers, hotels, restaurants, and major markets like Ben Thanh, An Dong, Binh Tay, or Kim Bien.

Illegal fees

But many private parking lot owners all over the city overcharge - charging VND5,000 or even 10,000 a time.

On Ton That Thiep Street in District 1, sidewalk parking lots, holding hundreds of motorbikes on the pavement and in rented houses, charge VND5,000.

A source close to the owner of the parking lot told Thanh Nien that the owner was running many lots which overcharged customers in different areas.

The parking lots on Nguyen Sieu and Nguyen Van Chiem Streets in District 1 also charged VND5,000 a time, while one lot on Nguyen Trung Truc Street asked for VND10,000.

The staff at the Nguyen Sieu parking lot even said there was a 15 or 20 minutes parking limit.

No signs or tickets

In front of the headquarters of the HCMC Customs Agency in District 1, two parking lots receive bikes for VND5,000 without issuing tickets for their owners.

“No need to get the ticket. We remember bikes and their owners,” an employee told Thanh Nien but parking lot owners are required by law to issue tickets that show their name and display signs advertising fees.

The parking lot at the Nam Ky Khoi Nghia-Huynh Thuc Khang intersection in District 1 does not display prices while tickets at the impromptu parking lots on Ham Nghi Street, Phan Chu Trinh Street next to Ben Thanh Market, and Nguyen Thi Minh Khai Street show no official seals.