Fines boosted occupancy in 26 public parking lots, says BMC

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to implement heavy fines for illegal parking near the 26 public parking lots (PPLs) in the city is finally

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) decision to implement heavy fines for illegal parking near the 26 public parking lots (PPLs) in the city is finally bearing fruits. According to the civic body data, the occupancy rate of these PPLs has now increased by around 30-40%, and in certain cases even doubled, after the imposition of heavy fines in July 2019.

HT Image

“The occupancy rate has increased, and in the coming days, it will surge further, even as the fine amount has been slashed from ₹10,000 to ₹4,000, and no vehicle owner would like to shell out for illegal-parking. Therefore, our overall drive can be considered successful,” a BMC official said.

The BMC had decided to levy heavy fine amount of ₹10,000 for parking illegally within 500 metres of the PPLs, which was last week reduced to ₹4,000.

According to the civic body, the PPLs at Sewri, Lower Parel, Kalina, Andheri (West), Chandivali, Goregaon (East and West and) Kanjurmarg have seen a surge in the occupancy rate varying between 15% and

40%.

At the parking lots in Prabhadevi, Powai, Vikhroli, Nahur and Mulund, the occupancy has surged more than 50%.

In the case of the PPL at Trios Mall in Bandra (West), which has a capacity to accommodate around 90 vehicles, the occupancy rate was zero before the revised fines but was being utilised to its maximum capacity after the implementation of the ₹10,000-fine.

The decision to reduce the fine amount was taken after members of the Mumbai Parking Authority urged the civic body to slash the penalty, following which the BMC brought it down to ₹4,000.

AV Shenoy of Mumbai Vikas Samiti, said that the decision to decrease the fine amount will not have an impact in the occupancy rate in PPLs.

“I do not feel that the occupancy rate in PPLs will come down. The high fine amount was introduced only to change the mindset of the people. Now that more and more motorists are deciding to use the PPLs, I do not think that there will be any decrease in the occupancy rate of the parking lots. Besides, even the current fine of ₹4,000 is high enough to act as a deterrent in preventing citizens from parking illegally,” said Shenoy.

BEST cancels mini AC bus on Dadar route

The Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply and Transport (BEST) has cancelled its mini air-conditioned (AC) bus services between Kohinoor Square PPL to Siddhivinayak Temple, owing to poor response.

BEST spokesperson Manoj Varade said, “Our aim was to ease traffic around Dadar, but the ridership on the route was low.