Parking Management Responds to Viral Allegations of "Food Truck" Extortion at Alun-alun Kidul Jogja

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - A business owner in Yogyakarta has complained about alleged extortion when he opened a food truck at Alun-alun Kidul.

According to a viral video on social media, the entrepreneur was asked to pay fees for parking and meals over five days, from September 16 to 20, 2026.

The parking fee requested was Rp 1 million per day.

After one day of operation, the food truck owner decided to stop selling at Alun-alun Kidul and moved elsewhere.

Responding to the viral video, Supriyo Dwi Hartanto, one of the parking managers at Alun-alun Kidul, explained the incident began when four people came to use the parking area at Alkid.

He said the area was not designated for just one food truck. He also stated that he had communicated with the business owner.

He stated the space used for the food truck was approximately 25 meters, and the fee agreed upon was Rp 1 million per day.

“The block is not just for one food truck, and we have proof. We clear the area to prevent disruptions for tourists,” he said when met at Polsek Kraton on Friday (18/9/2026).

Regarding meal fees, Supriyo said the parking management never requested this.

Instead, the food truck owner offered meal money for those using the parking area.

“The crew offered it, not us asking for it—I have the chat records. We didn’t ask; we simply followed up,” he explained.

He said there were 15 parking attendants, but for meal purposes, he only accounted for 10 people with a total of Rp 1 million over five days.

“We did not determine the meal fees,” Supriyo added.

Partial Refund Issued

The viral video also complained about additional electricity usage fees charged by the parking management.

Regarding this, he denied the claims, saying they did not collect any fees for electricity.

He explained that the parking management was unaware of such fees and merely asked the food truck owner about typical electricity charges.

“We asked how much they usually pay for electricity, and they said usually Rp 50,000 per day,” he said.

Concerning the food truck owner no longer selling at Alun-alun Kidul, the parking management admitted they had refunded part of the money.

“Originally, the agreement was Rp 6 million. Since the event did not continue, they requested half of it back, and we already partially refunded it,” he said.

Dishub Confirms Extortion

Meanwhile, the Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency (Dishub) asserted it never issued parking permits in the area. Therefore, any complaints about parking fees are confirmed to be illegal levies (pungli).

Aminudin Aziz, Head of the Parking Division at Dishub Yogyakarta, said according to Yogyakarta City Regulation number 2 of 2019, Dishub does not issue parking permits for Alun-alun Kidul.

“Regarding Regulation Number 2 of 2019 concerning parking and its technical rules, we do not have parking attendants there with issued permits,” he said when contacted on Friday (18/9/2026).

He said their role was limited to regulating parking signs.

He stated that complaints about Rp 1 million parking fees are certainly extortion, as no official permits have been granted for parking at Alun-alun Kidul.

“If there are reports from food truck operators about extortion or parking fees, those are indeed illegal levies. There are no official fees,” he explained.