The Indian Express      30.07.2012

One smart card for all parking lots

The three municipal corporations in the Capital have considered
implementing the Urban Development ministry’s suggestion for a common
pre-paid parking card valid across the city.

The proposal for a common card, on the lines of the Metro Smart
Card, comes in the wake of numerous complaints about parking contractors
duping and overcharging people.

People will be able to use the proposed “smart mobility card” at
street parking lots and automated underground multi-level car parking
stations of North, South and East municipal corporations.

“The existing parking contracts at most of the sites are about to
expire in a couple of months. Fresh tenders will be issued for these.
Hopefully, the proposal for a common parking card will be passed by the
time the parking contracts are renewed or issued afresh (depending on
who wins the contracts),” a senior civic official said.

The corporations have planned to set up kiosks at shopping complexes and general stores, where people can recharge their cards.The common card is part of the civic agencies’ attempt to
streamline and revamp the city’s parking policies. “The idea is to put
an end to contractors deceiving people by charging them more than the
stipulated amount. The card will also help augment the civic agencies’
revenue,” the official said.

Sources said the Urban Development ministry had proposed that the
smart card could be introduced initially for DTC buses and eventually
taken to the parking lots, including those at shopping complexes and
malls.

Officials said the civic administration has planned to restrict the card for use at parking sites only.Explaining how it will work, a civic official said: “The card can
be obtained by paying a stipulated fee. People will have to swipe the
cards at a machine fixed at entry and exit points of parking lots.”

“Based on the occupancy at parking lots in different zones, the
three corporations will share the money generated. Moreover, the
agencies will get a share amount from every recharge of these cards,
based on the ratio of parking sites within the ambit of each
corporation,” the official said.

“Though the idea sounds simple, implementation will be
complicated. It will require a lot of math to calculate the exact share
of each corporation based on the usage of their parking sites,” he said.

“The civic agencies will have to set up a ‘clearance’ department
to minimise transaction glitches. As multiple players will be involved
in the process, it will be a challenging task. At present, a committee
of officials from the three civic agencies is poring over the various
aspects of the smart card,” the official said.

Together, the North and South corporations have 339 street
parking sites. The East corporation recently invited bids for around 70
on such sites, while the South agency has planned to operate six
automated facilities.