Parking fees to go up 300 per cent
November 7, 2006
MUMBAI: The joy of finding a parking slot in this traffic-clogged metro is bound to vanish when vehicle owners realise that parking charges have been hiked nearly fourfold. For instance, three hours in a Nariman Point parking slot will cost Rs 40, up from the present charge of Rs 11, if the BMC should pass the proposal for the revised rates.
Depending on the type of area, the parking charges for private vehicles will be increased from 163% to 300%. For commercial vehicles, the increase will be between 233% to 633%. This is not all. The rates will significantly increase with each passing hour. The BMC has put forth its proposal for the revised rates before the civic improvements committee this week. It will come into effect as soon as it receives the approval of the general body of the BMC.
Presently, the rates for two-wheelers, cars and heavy vehicles are Re 1, Rs 5 and Rs 15 respectively. The rates will now be hiked based on the category—A (upmarket central business district areas), C (downmarket areas) and B (others)—that the area falls in.
The BMC parking lots, open from 8 am to 11 pm and mostly located in A-ward (Fort, Colaba, Nariman Point), fall under the A category. “Other A-grade parking lots include those in Malabar Hill, Juhu scheme, Bandra, Andheri and some areas in Trombay, Ghatkopar and Mulund. Parking char-ges will also be steep in areas near railway stations and multiplexes,” said Shailesh Mehta, BMC’s executive engineer for traffic planning.
For instance, the rates for parking cars in A category areas like Nariman Point or the Bandra-Kurla complex will be Rs 20. It will be Rs 15 for B ares and Rs 10 for C category areas. The rates will increase with every hour, the maximum increase being up to eight times the rate for the first hour. The charges for tempos will be between Rs 15 and 25 for the first hour, while those for buses and trucks will be Rs 50.
The BMC has revised its parking rates after ten years. Civic officials say the revision was necessary to decongest commercial business areas as also to drive people to use public transport or consolidate their trips.
The new rates have been drawn up in accordance with the recommendations of traffic management consultant, MVA Asia Ltd. The BMC runs about 87 parking lots through private contractors and about 30 others through its ward offices, which bring in an annual revenue of Rs 4.5 crore. Most of the money, however, goes into the coffers of private contractors who manage the parking lots for a period of two years after making a one-time payment.
URL: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/348022.cms