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Drivers avoid Vietnam smart carpark on comparatively high prices

A smart carpark in central Vietnam’s Danangafter two months of being operational, has reached just 5 percent of its capacity. This is due to the high cost of parking relative to traditional parking lots, according to Nguyen Trung Nghia, Deputy Director of the Danang Department of Transport. 

Vietnam’s cities have a carpark problem. Built around motorbikes most cities are cramped with narrow streets and very little room to park a car. Car numbers, however, have continued to grow and as a stop-gap vehicles are being parked just about anywhere space can be found.

This, however, is unsustainable with the go-to solution, sidewalks, not built for the weight and cracking under the pressure. There also aren’t all that many sidewalks that are wide enough to accommodate a car and what space there is is very close to, if not already, surpassing capacity.

In this context, more carparks, particularly more parking garages like the aforementioned smart carpark in Danang are sorely needed. What this suggests, however, is that car owners may not be willing to pay for it and indeed there is a huge difference with drivers charged about US$4 a day to park on the pavement but the new carpark in Danang charging US$1 per hour.

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