The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) is all set to invite tenders for presenting paid parking in Bengaluru, a move that will help citizens of the congestion-hit city.
Paid parking in the city
Under the Parking Policy endorsed by the state government on February 2, 2021, the BBMP is tasked with the duty of moving the city from ‘free’ to ‘paid parking’ and indirectly preventing the use of personal vehicles, reported Deccan Herald.
The BBMP expects to earn at least Rs 188 cr annual revenue with the project, which has been prepared by the Directorate of Urban Land Transport (DULT) after a detailed study and will be enforced in all eight zones.
Administrators in DULT informed that besides two and four-wheelers, parking space has been earmarked for shared micro-mobility vehicles, cycles/PBS, loading and unloading where applicable, and auto stand.
The tenders will be available for bidding within a day or two. Officials in the traffic engineering cell (TEC) said the parking fee has been decided after classifying roads into three categories, a BBMP official said.
“The roads have been categorized into A, B, and C based on the market value of the land and the carriageway’s width. Parking space has been specified in each of the zones based on the availability of the space,” BBMP Executive Engineer (TEC) H N Jayasimha said.
Another official stated that paid parking will be in force for 12 to 15 hours a day, starting from 7 am to 10 pm.
“Discussions on parking fee and parking hours are at the final stage,” Jayasimha said. “Tentatively, it has been proposed that the use of Category A parking space will cost Rs 15/hour for two-wheelers and Rs 30/hr for four-wheelers. Parking in Category B space will cost Rs 10/hr for two-wheelers and Rs 20 for cars.” Meanwhile, category C will be the cheapest, with “bike and car owners paying Rs 5/hr and Rs 10/hr” respectively.
Cheaper parking in distant areas
According to the Deccan Herald, in zones like Yelahanka, Bommanahalli, Rajarajeshwari Nagar, and Dasarahalli, parking fees will be moderate as most of the roads do not fall under Category A. However, in core areas and overcrowded corridors of the city, the cost will go up.
The BBMP anticipates making a minimum parking revenue of Rs 62 crore from the East Zone, followed by South (Rs 50 crore) and West (Rs 20.71 crore). Officials expect the least amount from Rajarajeshwari Nagar (Rs 5 crore).
Srinivas Alavilli, head of civic participation at Janaagraha, said introducing paid parking should go hand-in-hand with the promotion of public transport.
“The roads are part of urban commons and belong to all the people. A few lakhs of car owners can’t take over the space for parking. If necessary, let them use the parking space by paying for it,” he said.
