See this guy which seems to be waving his hand, wearing blue uniform? Well, that is the ubiquitous formal "parking assistant", or better known in Indonesia as tukang parkir. When one thinks about parking in an Indonesian large-ish cities, these blokes are the first that come to mind, not the (also ubiquitous) parking metres.
As with Indonesia's traffic regulation, parking regulation is also blurry. Probably there are a set of clear rules of parking, however, inacessible to most people, stowed away in some Government office, forgotten. Most people therefore also know the customary street rules, which we are going to discuss in this post.
One just can never identify a legal area where one can park. Seems that every area, even those with a no parking sign standing firmly, can be used as parking spots. Sometimes, a parking area may block almost the whole width of the road, leaving a small space for one car to pass. Needless to say, this causes traffic congestion. When parking in a seemingly illegal parking area, never to worry that you will get a ticket or something,... you won't. There is a possibility that you may loose your rearview mirror, get scuff marks on your vehicle, but tickets you won't. Seems that the traffic police has just given up to issue tickets. In fact, I have seen a lot of motorcyclist refusing to stop at a red light, in front of a traffic police, without the police even trying to warn them or anything.
In almost (I'd say 99,99%) every parking area, we can find the said parking assistant. There are two types of these fellows, formals and informals. Formals are "paid" by the Government, and have two tasks, to assist a motorist to park, and collect parking fare from them. This explains the lack of existence of parking metres. Considering the rate of unemployment, parking metres are of course not a good idea.
Many times I need no assistance in parking. I have trained myself to park in the various manners of parking Jakarta can offer. Are these guys redundant? there are times that they aren't. Firstly, when one needs to park in a crowded area, these tukang parkirs will help you spot an empty spot, albeit it may not be ideal (can be too tight for your vehicle, in a hot sunny spot, etc). Getting out of your parking spot in a crowded area can be a lot easier too, thanks to these blokes. Indonesian drivers seem to hate the brake pedal so bad, that a person needs to stand and block their way for them to stop and give way to a vehicle getting out of a parking lot.
However, if those brake-hating-motorists are actually looking for a parking spot, the second they spot you walking to your car, seemingly to leave the place, they shall follow you, in their car, to your parking spot. If getting in your car takes ages, for example, you are with your family, with a baby in the stroller and groceries in a cart, they will patiently wait for you, in their car, blocking cars behind them from getting on with their quest of finding a parking spot. Of course, congestion and car horns ensues. This, is quite normal.
Informal tukang parkir on the other hand, is not paid by the Government. According to the regulations, it is possible that the area in which they are operating, is a not for free parking, however, for some reason no formal tukang parkir are seen. Or, that area could be a free parking area, but for some reason these guys think they'd just show up and collect money from you. They too has two tasks, "offer" their assitance for parking your vehicle, and collect money from motorists for themselves. By parking on this area, you are inherently accepting their offer of assistance. Therefore it is natural that they expect you to pay them when you leave (sometimes you have to pay in advance). If you are caucasian, expect that they will charge you above the Government fare. Not paying may result in a small un-buff-able mark, or even perhaps a smallish to a noticeable dent to your vehicle. This, according to Indonesian law is actually a criminal offence, however, good luck trying to get the authorities to prosecute these people.
