HDB's Mechanised Parking System at Three Sites

Mr Leon Perera asked the Minister for National Development in respect of HDB's Mechanised Parking System (MPS) at the three MPS sites in Changi Village, Bangkit Road and Yishun Avenue 4 respectively (a) what are the utilisation rates of these carparks; (b) how long does a driver have to wait to retrieve the car during peak and non-peak periods; and (c) what are the breakdown rates of each MPS and maintenance costs involved.

The average utilisation rate for the Housing and Development Board's (HDB) Mechanised Parking System (MPS) at the three sites during peak period is about 80%.

Based on HDB's parking records, motorists took an average of five minutes to park or retrieve their vehicles during off-peak periods. The time taken for peak period parking or retrieval varies between 10 and 15 minutes, depending on the number of vehicles in the queue. This compares favourably with the parking situation prior to the implementation of MPS. For example, at Changi Village, motorists used to take more than 30 minutes to queue and find a parking lot during peak periods.

Like all new mechanical systems, the MPS requires a run-in period where minor glitches are experienced and fine-tuning of the system is necessary. But, if we look over the past six months, out of about 54,000 parking transactions, the breakdown rate is a low 0.02%, or 11 incidences in all. These arose mainly due to user-related issues, such as motorists forgetting to apply their parking brakes. The maintenance cost per MPS lot ranges from $60 to $100 per month.