Transport Malta Action Needed to Stop Abusive Car Park Attendants

Car park attendants have returned to the headlines after members of the public wrote on Facebook to complain that the public car park at The Strand, Sliema, has been hogged by an attendant demanding a specified amount of money for the luxury of parking in this public car park.

The Association for Conasumer Rights, Malta (ACR)  has also been informed that one association member was even refused parking in a Floriana car park simply on the whim of the parker whose ego seemed to have been hurt when the driver decided to park without heeding the parker’s unrequested instructions.

It is good to note that Transport Malta (TM) has placed signs to indicate that payment is not necessary. But by stating that tipping is voluntary, TM might be inadvertently suggesting that clients are expected to do so.   The Association for Consumer Rights is urging TM to change the wording to ‘Public Car Park –Free Parking’.

The car park charging abuse on the Island is a long-standing story and in 2014 a petition demanding action by the authorities to stop this abuse was supported by 2,500 signatures.  While Transport Malta issues a parking attendant licence, if they are satisfied that the applicant is “of good character and is fit to carry out his duties” ,  it is not clear what steps TM needs to ensure that drivers are not bullied into paying for a free service.  The ACR deems that Transport Malta needs to do more to protect people from parker abuse and that abusers be brought to justice.

The Association is not happy with Transport Malta’s explanation that a report on its own is not enough to take action against a particular parking attendant.  There are ways and means to verify a report as abusers are usually repeat offenders who are greedy and take advantage of busy people who feel compelled to pay to secure a parking space even though there is no such obligation. Some drivers also pay out of fear that if they don’t, the parker might damage their car in revenge.  Haven’t TM heard of mystery shoppers, where officials are sent in informal clothing posing as clients, who then report back to their managers?

The Association understands that policing cannot be carried out around the clock and that cooperation from the public could help stop this illegal activity.  The ACR urges the public to think twice before accepting to pay a parker and to report any related abusive behaviour on 80072309.  However, the ACR deems that enforcement action is critical to ensure parking attendants do not bully the general public.  Towards this end, ACR calls on Transport Malta to investigate alleged abusive parker reports immediately and to take the appropriate enforcement action as soon as possible.