Planned fees seen too high

The fees to be charged at the car park near St Luke's Hospital as from next month will raise the hackles of hospital visitors, particularly the regular ones, going by the reactions of car park users.

The current charge is a flat rate of 50 cents. But as soon as barriers and ticketing machines are in place, the tariff will be 50 cents for the first hour and 25 cents for every subsequent hour, with a maximum of Lm2 for 24 hours.

Following adverse comments by car park users, Pietà council said on Sunday that it was considering the possibility of offering day tickets, and possibly weekly and monthly tickets too.

One visitor, Maria Borg, said she went to the hospital three times a day to see a close relative and recently she was taking her son to the out-patients department because of a broken leg.

She said the new fees would dig a hole in the pockets of daily visitors, and claimed they were steeper than those charged at the airport.

Joe Stivala said he had to leave the ignition keys with one of the attendants because the car park was full.

"What irks me is that the ticket carries a notice that says that motorists leave their car at their own risk. What am I paying the fee for, then?" Mr Stivala asked.

However, Mario Attard, manager of the car park, which is managed by CT Park Ltd., said the car park was in an extremely sensitive place and CT employees had to cope with hundreds of clients who usually wanted to get out of their cars and back into them in a matter of minutes, which was not always possible.

"We ask motorists to leave their car keys because we have to double park cars. The park takes only 250 vehicles at any one time. We double park cars in order to keep cars off the road.

"Customers have to understand the costs involved in running the car park. For example, we have to have about five persons at the car park during opening hours, that is between 6 a.m. and 9 p.m.

"The fees at Pietà are cheaper than any other car park and definitely less expensive than the airport. The practice adopted in car parks here and in the UK is that drivers park at their own risk.

"There is no way you can have a car park that is totally secure," Mr Attard said.

Mr Stivala said he had visited the hospital for the past week because his wife had given birth to a baby girl. The 50 cents fee was worth it, but a fee of Lm2 would be too steep, he said.

Alison Zammit, who visits her father two to three times daily, said the fee was definitely not worth it because there was no security.

"Who will make good for any damage to a vehicle at the car park? The only thing is that by parking there the car would be sheltered from the elements," Ms Zammit said.

Anna Borg said she had just visited St Luke's to see a relative who had just had a baby. She feels 75 cents should be the highest fee charged.

"It is good to find a slot where to park but just imagine if you have a close relative who is hospitalised and you have to come to hospital every day," Ms Borg said.

Anna Lise Bonnici said the park was a God-send because most of the roads around St Luke's were chock-a-block with parked cars. But the fee at the park used to be 25 cents, she added.

"All in all, I find it practical to park here rather than risk getting a parking ticket.

"On the other hand, the operators of the park have to bear in mind that while people go to Valletta for shopping or to while away the time, coming to St Luke's is something you cannot put off."

Juliet Pace said: "Although visitors' stays are limited by visiting hours, patients visiting the outpatients' department often have to wait hours to be seen, through none of their own fault. This makes it rather unfair. And there is also a social aspect to this. Relatives often take meals in to their relatives, which is welcomed by the hospital. Should these people be victimised, especially if their relatives are in there for a long stay?

"And you cannot force people to use the bus - do you expect them to carry the food on two buses, especially when visiting time at lunchtime and in the evening it is only half an hour long?"

When asked how they had calculated the new tariff, Mr Attard said it was quoted in the tender that CT Park Ltd submitted to Pietà local council when bidding for the management contract.

"The Lm2 fee limit is meant to be of benefit to motorists because they would otherwise have to pay much more if they were to be charged by the hour. For 10 hours, if the fee was per hour, a driver would have to pay 50 cents for the first hour and 25 cents for the remaining hours, which would add up to Lm2.75.

"The council has a big say in the way the car park is managed," he said.

Pietà mayor Malcolm Mifsud had said that between 140 and 450 drivers used the park daily depending mainly on which specialists were on duty at St Luke's and how busy the out-patients pharmacy was.

According to the council's agreement with CT Park Ltd, this financial year the council would be netting a gross profit of Lm12,000 from the park.

The council pays the Land Department Lm30,000 in rent per annum.