Penang Rolls Out Automated Parking Fines

Penang has launched a new automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to issue parking fines directly to motorists' phones. The system uses real-time number plate analysis to identify overdue parking fees and issue fines without the need for parking officers.

Motorists will receive notifications via the Penang Smart Parking app, which is already the primary payment platform for council parking lots. According to H'ng Mooi Lye, chairman of the state local government, town and country planning committee, this new system will improve enforcement by making it faster, smarter, and less prone to errors.

“This isn’t just a tech upgrade. It is (a shift in) how we manage urban parking with smart enforcement, full digitalisation and a commitment to the environment with fewer paper compound notices,” he says.

Penang's local authorities, the Penang Island City Council and the Seberang Perai City Council, will each operate five ANPR units. These units will use optical character recognition to check license plates against the road transport department (JPJ) database.

 



H'ng stated that with the ANPR system, owner's information would be retrieved directly from JPJ records, and a compound fine notice would be issued immediately if a car was found to be parked illegally or without payment.

He added that this initiative would reduce operating costs and could potentially decrease the number of required patrol units by 60%.