Background of Food Truck Parking Fee Controversy at Alun-alun Kidul: Rp 1 Million Charged Per Day

YOGYAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - Complaints by food truck vendors claiming they were asked to pay Rp 1 million per day for parking at Alun-alun Kidul, Yogyakarta, went viral on social media.

The vendor had initially planned to operate for five days, from September 16 to 20, 2026.

However, after just one day of operation, the food truck owner decided to stop selling at Alun-alun Kidul and relocated to another spot.

The issue then drew responses from the Yogyakarta Palace (Keraton), parking management, and the Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency (Dishub).

The Keraton clarified that the parking fee was not part of any permit they issued, while Dishub stated they never granted parking permits in the Alun-alun Kidul area.

Meanwhile, the parking management explained that the Rp 1 million daily fee was a rate for using about 25 square meters, which had been discussed and agreed upon with the food truck party beforehand.

Below is the detailed background on the controversy surrounding the Rp 1 million daily parking fee for food trucks at Alun-alun Kidul, Yogyakarta.

Food truck vendor asked to pay Rp 1 million per day

The case began with a viral video posted on social media.

In the video, a business owner complained about charges imposed while operating a food truck at Alun-alun Kidul.

The food truck owner was said to have been asked for payments covering parking and consumption costs for five days, from September 16 to 20, 2026.

The parking fee requested was Rp 1 million each day.

After operating just one day, the food truck owner decided to stop selling at the location and moved elsewhere.

The video also showed the owner complaining about additional electricity usage fees.

Keraton confirms food truck had permit

The Yogyakarta Palace later issued a statement regarding the controversy.

GKR Condrokirono, Penghageng Kawedanan Hageng Panitrapura Karaton Ngayogyakarta Hadiningrat, said the food truck activities had received official permission from the Keraton.

"The Yogyakarta Palace has granted permission for the food truck activities in accordance with applicable regulations," GKR Condrokirono said in a written statement on Friday (September 18, 2026).

However, the Keraton emphasized that demands for parking fees or other payments mentioned were not part of the permit process issued by the Palace.

"Regarding the subsequent parking fee requests and other demands conveyed by the party via social media, we must stress that these are not part of the permit process or levies imposed by the Yogyakarta Palace," she said firmly.

GKR Condrokirono hopes that the issue, which occurred outside the licensing process, will be addressed by the relevant parties so similar incidents do not happen again.

Parking management explains origin of the Rp 1 million fee

One of the parking managers at Alun-alun Kidul, Supriyo Dwi Hartanto, offered a different version regarding the Rp 1 million daily fee.

Supriyo said the issue started when four people came wanting to use the parking area at Alun-alun Kidul.

According to him, the prepared area was not intended for just one food truck.

He said the area used covered about 25 square meters and that the Rp 1 million daily fee had been discussed and agreed upon prior.

"The block was not for a single food truck, we also have evidence. We sterilized the area so that tourists would not be disturbed if they used it," he said during an interview at Kraton Police Station on Friday (September 18, 2026).

Supriyo also denied that the parking managers demanded money for consumption.

He said that the consumption was actually offered by the food truck crew.

"The crew offered it, not us asking for it. I have the chat. From that, why would we ask? Apologies, but we did not ask; we only followed up," he explained.

Supriyo mentioned there were 15 parking attendants in the area.

However, for consumption, he only accounted for 10 people with a total value of Rp 1 million over five days.

"We do not set the consumption costs," Supriyo said.

Manager denies electricity fee collection

Supriyo also explained the complaint about additional electricity costs.

He denied that the parking management collected electricity fees.

According to him, the managers only asked the food truck party about the usual electricity costs incurred.

"We asked what the usual electricity cost was, and they replied about Rp 50,000 per day," he said.

Supriyo said there was an initial agreement worth Rp 6 million.

However, since the food truck activities were discontinued, the owner requested a partial refund.

"The initial agreement was Rp 6 million. Because the event was not continued, the owner asked for half to be returned, and part has already been refunded," he said.

Dishub Yogyakarta states the fee is unofficial

The Yogyakarta City Transportation Agency also provided clarification regarding the parking status at Alun-alun Kidul.

Aminudin Aziz, Head of Parking Section at Dishub, said the agency had never issued parking permits for the area.

He referred to Yogyakarta City Regional Regulation No. 2 of 2019 regarding parking.

"If we talk about Regional Regulation No. 2 of 2019 and its technical rules, we do not have parking attendants there who we have issued permits to," he said when contacted on Friday (September 18, 2026).

Dishub Yogyakarta only regulates parking signs in the area.

Since no parking permits were issued, Aminudin stressed that the parking fees complained about by the food truck managers are unofficial levies.

"When there were complaints from the food truck operators about illegal levies or parking, indeed those are illegal charges. There are no official fees," he explained.

Thus, the Rp 1 million daily fee controversy originated from the use of approximately 25 square meters of space for food truck activities in Alun-alun Kidul.

The parking management said the fee was agreed upon for the area usage, while the Yogyakarta Palace confirmed the payment was not related to any permits issued by the Keraton.

Dishub Yogyakarta also emphasized that there are no authorized parking attendants licensed in the Alun-alun Kidul area.

Parts of this article have been published on KOMPAS.com under the titles "Viral Alleged Food Truck Parking Fee Rp 1 Million at Alun-alun Kidul, Keraton Jogja Speaks Out" and "Parking Management Responds to Viral Alleged Illegal Levy of Food Truck at Alun-alun Kidul Jogja".