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Mobile app to help you find parking slots, rent it out; BMC in talks with firm
You may soon be able to rent out your parking space to motorists or book a parking spot near your destination in advance through your mobile phone, as the civic
You may soon be able to rent out your parking space to motorists or book a parking spot near your destination in advance through your mobile phone, as the civic body is considering tying up with a start-up firm which has developed an app called otopark, that allows the same.
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently received a proposal from the start-up about the app. The app allows housing societies, malls and commercial establishments to rent out their parking slots through the platform, and enables motorists to reserve parking spaces in advance.
There are more than 36 lakh vehicles registered in the city, and finding a parking spot is a challenge. Since July 2019, BMC has been levying heavy fines, ranging from ₹10,000 to ₹23,000, for parking illegally within a 500-metre radius of public parking lots, in order to unclog roads. BMC has also formed a separate body — the Mumbai Parking Authority (MPA) — to resolve parking-related issues in the city.
As the civic body has not been successful in convincing a lot of housing societies and commercial establishments to open up their vacant parking spaces to motorists, it thinks the innovative app might boost confidence among stakeholders. “We have received a proposal from a start-up. However, we are scrutinising how this can work out. We are also checking whether we should tie up with the firm or have MPA do so. There will be several issues, such as revenue sharing, BMC’s role, etc, that will have to be looked into before a decision is taken.”
The BMC official said they have also discussed whether the start-up can tie up with parking operators or if itself can play the role of a parking operator. “The possibility of association will have to be studied, taking into consideration the possibility of other competitors in the market,” the official said.
Aakash Gupta, founder and chief executive officer, Otopark, said they have submitted their proposal to BMC and also had discussions with MPA.
“The app will enable housing societies and commercial complexes to share their parking spaces when not in use. The idea is similar to tourists renting out homestays and villas using mobile apps. However, we do not call it renting parking, but sharing in exchange of revenue,” Gupta said. “The app will also enable one to book parking slots in advance to ensure time is not wasted in finding parking, which ultimately also adds to pollution, time, cost and congestion on roads. We have just launched our mobile app and are currently trying to get BMC, commercial complexes and malls onboard. We recently tied up with one mall and a commercial complex in the city,” he said.
The civic body recently also approached mall operators to open up their parking lots for outsiders. MPA is also working on drafting a parking policy that will allow registration of one vehicle per person to ensure an individual or a family doesn’t register more than one or two vehicles by linking their details to their Aadhaar number.
