Pvt buses to be parked on Andheri, Vile Parle roads?

No space in BEST depots, MPA turns to stretches that don’t see traffic

Mumbai Parking Authority (MPA) will identify roads in Andheri, Jogeshwari and Vile Parle where private buses can park at night. The decision comes after MPA realised there may not be enough space at Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) depots owing to the increase in its own fleet. The BEST fleet has more 3,500 buses and another 325 were introduced recently. The city has nearly 14,000 private buses.

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In August 2019, MPA made parking available for tourist buses at 27 bus depots in the city, for 12 hours a day, from 8am and 8pm. This was done as part of an initiative to decongest roads as private buses usually parked along important arterial roads, leading to congestion.

However, with the increased number of BEST buses, depots will not be able to accommodate private buses in the future, said the committee. “We want to encourage parking on roads where regular flow of traffic is not affected and space is available. At a recent meeting it was discussed that as BEST buses are on the run during the day, private buses can park there. However, during the night, identified roads will be made available for parking,” said P Velrasu, additional municipal commissioner, MPA.

MPA plans to identify roads that do not see heavy traffic and are wide enough to allow private buses to park at night. The new parking scheme will be implemented on a pilot basis in K (East) ward (Andheri, Vile Parle, Jogeshwari) and will be replicated in other wards if successful.

A senior civic official said, “This particular area has been selected considering the several commercial offices located here.”

A team of experts will carry out a survey of the area and roads that are at least 18 metres wide will be considered.

Vivek Pai, a Vile Parle resident and member of the Mumbai Mobility Forum, said, “I disagree with the parking body on allowing private buses on roads. Roads are not meant for parking and you cannot have huge vehicles stationed on roadsides.”