Motorists who display their vehicles for sale or advertisement purposes in public places will be slapped a fine of RO500, according to a new decision issued by H E Eng Mohsen bin Mohammed al Sheikh, chairman of Muscat Municipality.
Fines will now range from RO1O to RO500 for various violations. Parking fee too has been increased from 50bz per 30 minutes to 100bz. Parking fee payment through SMS has also been hiked to 100bz for 30 minutes. The decision came into effect on August 3. The decision has been taken to boost revenues as low oil prices have led to budgetary cuts of all government bodies.
According to the decision, drivers who occupy two parking lots will be fined RO10 while occupying a handicapped parking area will lead to a fine of RO20. “Leaving your car in ambulance parking slots and in places designated for buses and taxis will now cost motorists RO100.”
“The proposal to hike parking fee has been there for a long time. The proposal was sent to the government after much deliberation keeping in mind low oil prices that have affected all government bodies as budgets have been slashed. We have been looking at various options to raise revenues,” a Muscat Municipality official said.
Zonal parking fee, however, has not see any hike with the rate continuing to be RO5 per month for specific zones and RO15 per month for parking anywhere in the governorate.
Parking without paying or exceeding time limit will be fined RO10 now instead of RO3.
“The move is to stop people who just pay for 30 minutes or an hour, but keep the car parked all day. For such violations, the fine has been increased to RO10,” the official said.
Source: MuscatDaily