BBMP's pay and park: Eagle eye on violators

Bengaluru: Soon you will be asked to swipe your debit or credit card to pay parking fee! With its new Parking Management System, the BBMP is all set to change the face of public parking in the city. It will implement high technology-powered, automated pay-and- park facilities on 56 central business district (CBD) roads and is in the final process of awarding tender to implement the Parking Management System.

As per the proposal, parking meters, which will facilitate the use of smart cards, credit cards and debit cards will be installed at every parking lot. Interestingly, camera-based virtual loops will monitor the parking bays.

Explaining how the advanced parking system works, a top BBMP official, said, “When a car reaches a bay, surveillance camera will capture it as an image that becomes a part of the virtual loop that will be created at the main control centre. If the user has smart card/credit card/debit card, he has to walk up to the meter and swipe his card and enter the vehicle register number. A ticket will be issued which has to be displayed on the dash board.”

The official added that users intending to pay by cash will have to pay upfront for the duration he/she is expected to occupy the parking space. “If the smart card does not have enough balance, parking meter will flash a warning light and alert the control centre that the car is violating the system. The parking wardens will then tow away the vehicle,” the official added.       

Along with these facilities, the BBMP also proposes to install Parking Information System (PIS) boards on the roads (at both ends) and set up a customer help desk or call centre to clarify issues. The BBMP, which seems to have learnt a lesson from illegal hoardings, has specified that advertisements of any sort will not be allowed at these parking bays. The official added that tow vehicles will also be deployed at the parking bays to tow away vehicles parked in unauthorized areas or parked haphazardly.

Commenting about the implementation of the project, BBMP commissioner G. Kumar Naik said that tenders were open but the project would take time to come into force. “We have still not decided which agency will be given the tender and the tendering process will take time. It will take at least a month before the project becomes functional,” he said.

Roads in first phase
In the first phase, the parking system will be implemented in arterial roads such as M.G Road, Richmond Road, Residency Road, Commercial Street, Kasturba Road, Queens Road, Cubbon Road, Dickenson Road, Raj Bhavan Road, Race Course Road, Kempe Gowda Road, District Office Road, J.C. Road, N.R Road, SJP Road, SP Road, Seshadri Road, Bashyam Road, K.H Road and Lalbagh Fort Road