Indian Express 21.12.2009
To promote the bus, a plan to ban road parking
Incentive : Rs 300-crore fund to make buses more attractive
Parking is set to get more difficult than ever, exactly what the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) is trying to achieve as it seeks to promote public transport.
In its bid to encourage people to switch from cars to buses, the BMC has proposed to ban parking on the street. It is also setting up an integrated urban transport fund so that BEST can buy more buses and make public transport “attractive”.
The BMC has 113 pay-and-park lots, many of which are located on the street and on narrow lanes. Space on these lots is limited, enough for 3,084 vehicles against a total of estimated 11 lakh on the roads, but many motorists find empty spaces at nominal rates.
“Currently, people are not discouraged from driving. Only if stricter parking rules are implemented will they be forced to take the bus,” said a senior official.
The proposal to boost public transport by implementing an ideal parking policy has been placed in a meeting, scheduled for Monday, among group leaders of political parties in the BMC. Other suggestions include integrated public transport services, especially buses, which will act as feeders and connecting points from local train stations, a transport information centre for coordination and management and a “special purpose vehicle” for an intelligent transport system.
The road and traffic department’s proposals include revising parking rates in accordance with the land rates of the area, so that driving is discouraged all the more. The BMC has hiked the parking fees, 50 per cent for the first two hours for four-wheelers, and a five-fold hike for two-wheelers. The charges will be increased by Rs 5 every two years.
“We have always been committed to a ban on vehicles on the street and are working towards achieving it. Projects have been mooted for multi-storey and underground parking lots,” said an officer from the road department.
Banning parking on the street and in surrounding areas will help ease the pressure on the roads. Under the proposal, parking will only be allowed in multi-storey lots above the road (150 such locations have been identified) and seven underground ones.
The Rs 300-crore fund involves Rs 100 crore annually for the next three years. The fund is being sought for BEST under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to purchase 1,000 buses. In return, the BEST will annually pay the BMC Rs 10 crore, received from advertisements.
“The fund will be used as capital for purchase and maintenance of new buses. We want to encourage people to avoid using cars and use public transport,” said BEST general manager Uttam Khobragade.
Best has 4021 buses and the JNNURM funds will raise the fleet by 1000. Traffic experts have pegged Mumbai’s bus requirement at 10,000.
