Soon, RFID-based payment system at Delhi’s parking lots

The system, which uses cashless and paperless transactions, will be deployed at 22 parking lots run by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi

Several major parking lots in the Capital will soon get radio frequency identification (RFID)-based parking system — a chip-based system currently being used for toll tax collection across the country — senior Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) officials aware of the development said.

MCD currently operates 415 parking lots with an estimated parking space for 51,000 vehicles. (HT Archive)

Officials said that the system, which uses cashless and paperless transactions, will be deployed at 22 of MCD’s parking lots and will help reduce time taken to park vehicles. A senior MCD official said that the sites for the project have been identified and a proposal to set up a FASTag-based parking system is being prepared.

“We frequently get complaints about the time taken to park vehicles while some users complain about over charging. This system will be completely automated and cashless. The sensors at the entry and exit points of the parking lots will be able to read the FASTag on four wheelers and deduct appropriate amount,” said the official who asked not to be named said.

He added that two-wheelers, too, will have a cashless transaction system wherein QR code stickers will be pasted on the vehicles to facilitate payments.

To be sure, such RFID-based parking systems are already functional at several malls in Delhi and Gurugram.

On September 30, 2021, the erstwhile South MCD had operationalised the city’s first RFID-based municipal parking lot in Dwarka Sector 14.

The official said that the system is expected to be deployed at major parking lots in Munirka, Dwarka and Subash Nagar, and at the civic body’s 14 multilevel parking sites.

“The users get an SMS message about the time and amount deducted at the time of exit. We have already carried out a pilot project in Dwarka Sector 14 in this regard,” the official added.

The civic officials said that the aim of the project is to significantly reduce the time taken to park a vehicle and increase the user comfort.

“The integrated system will also act as an incentive for further adoption of RFID tags,” the official said.

MCD currently operates 415 parking lots with an estimated parking space for 51,000 vehicles. These include 14 multilevel parking lots.

Meanwhile, the civic body is also working on the integration of its RFID toll tax collection system with the national FASTag toll collection system of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI).

Senior MCD officials said that a pilot project is in works at the toll plaza near Kundli border with Haryana. If the project there is successful, it will be replicated at other major border points of Delhi, they said.