The Hindu               19.09.2013

Paid parking makes a comeback

Get ready to start paying parking fees. The Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) council, on Wednesday, gave the go ahead to bring back paid parking in the city, albeit in the core areas.

According to the resolution approved by Mayor B.S. Sathyanarayana, the paid parking system will be implemented first in the core areas comprising 85 major roads in three zones (West zone, East zone and South zone). It will be implemented in the areas coming between Ulsoor and Sirsi Circle (East-West boundary) and between Lalbagh and Bangalore Palace (South-East boundary).

The BBMP, which withdrew paid parking in 2005, will be implementing the action plan prepared by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT), after the government recently approved the parking policy.

The resolution stated that the directorate conducted a study on the available parking provisions in the areas under East-West boundary and South-East boundary. The study revealed that there was demand for parking 4,800 cars and 10,000 two-wheelers here. With a firm view that the demand for parking will only increase further, DULT has classified the areas into three packages. While Package A is classified as premium parking area, Package B is business parking area and Package C is ordinary parking.

The BBMP has fixed parking rates for the 85 roads that have been classified under the three packages. The parking fee will be revised every year based on the wholesale price index.

The BBMP hopes to set up a Parking Information System and put in place parking meters. Citizens will be able to make payments through mobile applications and swipe cards. Digital display boards may soon appear on the selected roads indicating the available parking spaces. All this is set to be centrally controlled. To implement this ambitious system, the BBMP will have to cough up at least Rs. 40 crore. According to estimates, the BBMP is expecting to garner Rs. 80 crore as revenue through parking fees and will be spending Rs. 8.5 crore on annual maintenance of the fully automated system.

Termed as the Bangalore Initiative for Parking, the BBMP will first have to float tenders and issue contracts for five years. Mr. Sathyanarayana said that the nitty-gritty of the implementation are yet to be worked out. “We will discuss the issue with the officials and implement the system accordingly,” he added.