PARKING companies are hanging by a thread as the new norm of working-from-home in the effect of the pandemic has posed a threat to their businesses.

They said they are fearful of uncertainties caused by the changes in the work culture, as well as by the reduced number of visitors at the malls.

For car park users, meanwhile, the situation has allowed them to save some money.

“We hope the new normal doesn’t actually become the permanent normal because it would definitely be harder on us,” said Trans Park Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer Thejashrea Gobinathan.

“We will have fewer options because right now, what if our clients are not an essential service and if they lose their business, can we still operate then?

“So, there are many factors and it’s like a domino effect.”

Trans Park is currently surviving through servicing on sites that have essential services operating such as the hypermarkets.

“So, whatever we are getting from this income somehow sustains us for the business.

“We have our eggs in a variety of industries as a service provider and thankfully that is helping us,” Thejashrea said.

Trans Park has operated since 2000 and today employs 30 staff working in its headquarters and on-site in several states including Kedah, Terengganu and Johor.

Thejashrea said the collection has dropped drastically in all areas and the income was insufficient to pay for the rent.

“How many times have I been stocking up since the start of the first movement-control order last March? And for how long can I sustain the business?

“There are salaries, machine maintenance services and so, at the end of the day, it comes back to how much you spent and yet have no returns.

“Property owners would have to be considerate enough to reduce the rental rates, then it would be fair for us to have some income.”

Ironically, she said it was interesting that she was receiving enquiries from new clients during this time to operate from their premises.

“It is an opportunity but we don’t know why they are leaving the current service provider, maybe the tenancy agreement has expired and they are going for a new service provider.

“It could also mean otherwise. So, for every opportunity that you’re getting, you have to be extra calculative. You have to do the maths properly because we cannot afford losses.

“We don’t want to be setting up the car park spaces and then there is no operation, we cannot wait for the profit to come,” she said.

While car park operators like Thejashrea’s are rueing the loss of income, car park users, meanwhile, have nothing to complain about.

An associate consultant for a management consulting firm, Jeremy Joel, said he had saved a lot by working-from-home.

“I have clients at the KL Sentral and Raja Chulan areas, the parking there could be RM14 for three hours,” the 26-year-old said.

“When I had workshops for nine hours in a day, the parking could be RM44. And that happened a few times in a month which means I would be paying RM200 for parking alone.”

He said during the pandemic, he was still entitled to claim the fixed travel allowance from his company.

“So, in a way, I gained about RM200 every month now,” he said, adding that he saved the hassle of finding parking in buildings.

Accounts and administrative assistant working in Subang, Galilee Kuan Li Vin, 30, said she cancelled her season parking subscription this year.

“I’m glad I terminated the subscription and have saved RM130 for four months now.

“While I was still on subscription last year, it was many months of wasted money for me,” she said.

Using technology

Another parking service provider, ParkIt, which tapped into the sharing economy, said it struggled to grow but made a minimal profit thanks to technology and having a lean team.

ParkIt emerged as a start-up in December 2016. It is a match-making platform that connects drivers to owners of unused parking spaces and vice versa.

“ParkIt is a subscription-based model and our users are mostly working professionals in the city.

“We are more resilient and our demand is more sticky because of the nature of our business model,” said its founder and CEO Kyan Liew.

During the pandemic, it provided discounts and the option to freeze subscriptions when users have different working arrangements temporarily.

“Users know they still have to return to work eventually and thus, most decide to keep their subscription.

“We also have users who need a car park to store their vehicles or at their residence. These users are not affected by the pandemic,” Liew said.

Additionally, ParkIt has global operations in Hong Kong and Singapore which Liew said the businesses there were less affected compared to Malaysia.

“We have more than 10,000 active users on the platform currently in Malaysia.

“We are not changing our business model but exploring opportunities to expand our services to existing clients,” Liew said.

One of the important lifelines, Liew said, was to get in touch with relevant agencies such as Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC), Cradle, and the Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre.

“We have not reduced the salary or laid off any team members since March 2020. Part of that is helped by government aid like the wage subsidy.

“We have also managed to get loans from the aid packages which we can decide to use for growth or enhance cashflow.

“Being a tech-focused company, ParkIt partnered with MDEC which provides much-needed support to us in the form of grants, support or networking,” Liew said.

Malaysia has been on nationwide total lockdown since June 1 where stores in shopping malls are not allowed to operate unless they fall under essentials such as grocery and food outlets.

Operating restaurants, food outlets and stalls are only for or take-away and delivery services as dine-ins are still not allowed.

Employers must also enforce the work-from-home policy with an attendance of not more than 40% of staff at any one time during the total lockdown. – July 3, 2021.