Motorists and taxi drivers have expressed their confusion over the Laos-China Railway Company’s new parking ticket policy, which sees drivers charged for simply picking up or dropping off passengers.
The Laos-China Railway Company recently announced its plan to upgrade facilities at Vientiane Railway Station by ensuring overnight parking and access to public toilets outside the station.
Parking lot fees start from LAK 7,000 for two-wheeled vehicles and LAK 10,000 for cars, with higher fees of LAK 30,000 for buses, and minivans and LAK 80,000 for overnight parking.
However, a taxi company, Hongsa Travel, has posted a statement on their social media that vehicles are now being charged LAK 3,000 for entering that train station to drop passengers at Vientiane Station. They were able to do this earlier without paying any money and don’t see the reason why they should start doing so now because they are not charged anything if they are dropping passengers off at the airport or the bus station as well.
There is also a disclaimer on the parking ticket that states that the company doesn’t take any responsibility for any accidents that might occur when a vehicle is moving through or parked on its premises.
The maximum parking time in the parking and drop-off zone is five minutes but private vehicles and taxi drivers have complained about having to wait in line for much longer to pay the parking lot fee and drop off passengers.
