The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) has reintroduced the park-and-pay policy in the city centre, seven years after public outcry forced authorities to halt the scheme.
Acting Secretary, FCT Transportation Secretariat, Usman Yahaya, who briefed journalists on Tuesday in Abuja, said the on-street parking policy was reintroduced to bring about sanity in the city.
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The park-and-pay system became controversial about five years ago before a court judgment stopped the FCTA from further collecting fees from residents for on-and-off the street parking within the metropolis.
He explained that the scheme, which would be managed by four companies, would commence in May, 2021.
Yahaya said: “on-street parking management was suspended in 2014 as a result of an FCT High Court ruling that declared the operation illegal because it was not specifically mentioned in the 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulation.
“The scheme was riddled with so much complexities, the operators were accused of many ill acts, but we have resolved the issues, so in May this year the scheme will kick off.
“In the past seven years, the Administration had embarked on various measures aimed at addressing the concerns raised by the Court and the public with regards to the scheme, the FCT Administration in collaboration with its legal team produced FCT Parking Regulations 2019 to amend the parking section of 2005 FCT Road Transport Regulations,” he said.
He said the four operators would cover the whole Federal Capital City which would be divided into districts for proper exercise.