FEB 4 — The apparent lack of planning foresight has put yet another dent in Singapore’s reputation for efficiency. This time, we find out that there are inadequate car park lots at the Budget Terminal in Changi. This has led to exorbitant charges for overnight parking.
For instance, housewife Amanda Goh ended up with a whopping bill of S$300 (RM720) for the four days she had left her car at the terminal when she went on holiday to Phuket. It probably cost more than her round-trip air ticket.
Earlier, another customer, a certain Ron Graham, had complained to the press that he had been charged what he considered a sky-high bill of S$84.20 for leaving his car at the parking lot for 34 hours. And is being levied at a place where people are looking for bargains — isn’t that why it is called the Budget Terminal?
When asked to explain the charges, Jeffrey Loke, Changi Airport Group’s vice-president for pricing and commercial strategy, told The Straits Times that a daily S$20 cap for parking at the Budget Terminal was lifted last August after some travellers had trouble finding space at the car park, which has 318 lots.
For one thing, the authorities miscalculated the popularity of budget travel at the start. They have had to expand the Budget Terminal at least once before, in 2008, to cope with the unanticipated demand.
As for the parking crunch, the almost patented Singapore solution for practically every problem? Raise prices.
Why not build more car lots instead? Perhaps it was argued that this would take too much time and incur costs, while the simple expedient of raising prices brings in greater revenue immediately for the corporatised airport operator.
The former S$20 daily parking cap — itself raised from an earlier cap of S$13.35 — was on par with the limit at Changi Airport’s three other regular terminals, which have a total of 5,150 car lots (850 lots at Terminal 1, 2,600 at Terminal 2 and 1,700 at Terminal 3).
On the Changi Airport website, the parking charges at the Budget Terminal are listed as four cents a minute or S$2.40 per hour, with a daily cap of S$58 since August 15 last year. The website also helpfully points out that “visitors seeking long-term parking may opt for covered parking at Terminal 2 for cheaper full day rate capped at S$20 per day. Free shuttle service between Terminal 2 and Budget Terminal will continue to run at intervals of 15 minutes”.
It seems to have been forgotten that budget travellers fly on the cheap precisely to avoid higher costs. And it is of little use when you arrive at the airport, especially on a tight schedule, to be told that cheaper parking alternatives are available — elsewhere. No use, too, telling them it could be cheaper to hire a limousine to get to the airport rather than self-drive and park.
A related complaint has been the inadequacy of proper signage. Loke had pointed out that there are electronic signboards along Airport Boulevard that tell motorists how many spaces are available at each car park. “There are also prominent signs displayed at the Budget Terminal car park entrance to inform drivers of the parking rates,” he was quoted as saying. Perhaps these signs could be improved with the charges more prominently displayed.
Unless all travellers, rich or shoestring, are treated properly, Changi, rated as one of the world’s leading airports, will lose some of its hard-won lustre. It should buck up and build a multi-storey car park at the Budget Terminal, and bring charges down. — Today
* Conrad Raj is Today’s editor-at-large.
* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication. The Malaysian Insider does not endorse the view unless specified.
