Office of The Ombudsman announces results of direct investigation into measures and usage of on-street parking spaces designated for people with disabilities (with photo)
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The Ombudsman, Ms Winnie Chiu, today (April 27) announced at a press conference the completion of a direct investigation into the measures and usage of on-street parking spaces designated for people with disabilities (Designated Parking Spaces), and made 11 recommendations for improvement to the Transport Department (TD).
With effect from January 29, 2021, the TD introduced a new measure to extend the eligibility for Designated Parking Spaces to holders of the Parking Certificate for Drivers Who Carry People with Mobility Disabilities (Parking Certificate), allowing them to use those spaces for free when carrying specified persons with lower limb mobility disabilities. In the past, only holders of the Disabled Person's Parking Permit (DPPP) were entitled to use those spaces. The new measure has aggravated the shortfall in the supply of the Designated Parking Spaces, and suspected abuse is on the rise.
Due to their different regimes and backgrounds, the DPPP and the Parking Certificate have their own sets of approval procedures and eligibility criteria. The investigation by the Office of The Ombudsman revealed that the TD has not rationalised the discrepancies, nor had it thoroughly assessed the problems that could arise upon implementation of the new measure. As such, there are inadequacies in the Department's formulation of the new measure, assessment of the supply and demand of Designated Parking Spaces, processing of applications, prevention of abuse and handling of complaints.
Ms Chiu said, "Under the new measure, the TD extended the eligibility for Designated Parking Spaces to Parking Certificate holders to cater for the travel needs of people with disabilities, thereby promoting their social integration as well as supporting and easing the burden of carers. The Office concurs that these objectives are in line with the current policy direction. Yet, in achieving these objectives by administrative means, the TD apparently has not anticipated the problems stemming from the discrepancies between the DPPP and the Parking Certificate in terms of approval criteria, checks against abuse, etc, when the holders of both documents are allowed to use the Designated Parking Spaces for free. While the TD should ensure that people with comparable levels of lower limb disabilities, either as drivers or passengers, are equally entitled to use the Designated Parking Spaces, its launch of the new measure without first rationalising the discrepancies and conducting an in-depth assessment of the potential problems could easily aggrieve the parties affected. It is incumbent upon the TD to fully recognise the discrepancies between the DPPP and the Parking Certificate and adopt measures against the abuse of Designated Parking Spaces."
The Office has made 11 recommendations for improvement to the TD, which include:
- clarify the policy and positioning of having Designated Parking Spaces, fully assess the supply and demand, draw up a schedule for various tasks and regularly review progress of the tasks;
- regularly survey the usage rates of Designated Parking Spaces, and release the data to the public;
- comprehensively review the eligibility and approval criteria for a Parking Certificate and the procedures for handling parking abuse, review and strengthen measures against various forms of misusing the Parking Certificate;
- proceed with the installation of a smart monitoring system at Designated Parking Spaces to step up monitoring their usage; and
- in the long run, consider and explore legislative amendments to address the discrepancies between the DPPP and the Parking Certificate in terms of approval procedures, eligibility criteria and conditions of use.
The TD has, in general, accepted all of the improvement recommendations.
The full investigation report is available on the website of the Office of The Ombudsman at www.ombudsman.hk for public information.
Ends/Thursday, April 27, 2023
Issued at HKT 12:30
Issued at HKT 12:30
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