Oral Answer by Ministry of National Development on grace period in EPS car parks
Feb 7, 2017
Ms Cheryl Chan Wei Ling: To ask the Minister for National Development whether the Ministry will consider providing a longer grace period of 15 minutes for parking in car parks with electronic parking systems during peak hours in areas where there are childcare facilities and schools.
Answer:
The 10-minute grace period in HDB and URA car parks with electronic parking systems is generally sufficient for motorists to pick up or drop off passengers, or for motorists to exit the carpark if they cannot find a parking space.
HDB and URA need to impose charges after the grace period to ensure quick turnover of vehicles in the car park. This prevents build-up of congestion in the car park, allows more motorists to make use of the car park, and ensures that the interests of residents who drive or have season parking are adequately taken care of.
Nevertheless, as parking charges in car parks with electronic parking systems are levied on a per minute basis, if motorists exceed the grace period, they only need to pay for the actual duration they have parked.