BEST solution to city’s parking woes
♦ Cars will be charged rs 150 and bikes rs 75 ♦ Each depot has between 30-100 slots available ♦ Pilot projects at marol, santa cruz successful
Soon, you can park your car at any of the 26 bus depots around the city. BEST has devised a plan to allow private vehicles to be parked in its depots during the day, when the buses will be plying around the city. The proposal has been sent to the BMC’s 17-member BEST committee, which is expected to clear it on Monday following a discussion and debate.
BEST will charge Rs 150 for cars and Rs 75 for bikes.
According to traffic studies, Mumbai currently has day parking space for only 3.3 lakh of its 22 lakh cars. More than 50,000 cars are added every year besides motorcycles, tankers, school buses and commercial vehicles.
Sources said BEST’s depots can easily accommodate, on an average, between 30 and 100 vehicles at a time. While this may not add up to a huge number, the fact that all BEST depots are located in busy areas will help ease congestion.
For instance, in South Mumbai, the depots at Colaba and Back Bay will help ease congestion around the Fort and Nariman Point business districts.
The biggest relief, however, will be in Central Mumbai and the suburbs. In Sion and Dadar, which are perennially congested due to outstation buses and heavy vehicles, the large depots at Anik, Wadala, Prateeksha Nagar and Dharavi will go a long way in easing congestion.
Further, almost each western suburb has a large depot - Bandra, Santa Cruz, Oshiwara, Marol, Goregaon, Malwani and Malad. In the east, there are big depots at Vikhroli, Shivaji Nagar and Ghatkopar, besides smaller ones at Deonar, Kurla and Mulund.
Apilot project is already on, with people being allowed to park their cars at the Santa Cruz and Marol depots.
BEST, however, admitted that the response has not been great. They expect things to change when all depots are thrown open to the public with better publicity.
“The best thing is that BEST depots are located in prime areas and will help solve parking troubles to a large extent,” said BEST Committee Chairman Arvind Dudhwadkar, adding that he will consider it favourably. “On the other hand, BEST will get some much needed revenue. We will ensure that BEST charges people at market rates.”
The transport arm of the BEST is currently a loss-making unit. While officials refused to reveal how much they hope to raise through the plan, BEST’s annual losses are Rs 700 crore.
“Parking space will be allotted in each of the 26 depots as per their size by the respective depot managers once the proposal is passed,” a BEST spokesperson said.
The traffic police, too, welcomed the plan. Mumbai’s traffic chief, joint commissioner (traffic) BK Upadhyaya said he looked forward to the approval of the proposal. “It will indeed help greatly if it is allowed at all the depots. It will definitely help in decongesting traffic.”
BEST sources said they will ensure that regular operations are not hampered. People will have to pay a security deposit equivalent to a month’s parking charges up front. Users will also have to pay for any loss or damage to BEST property caused by them.
Congress’s Pramod Mandrekar added that his committee’s only worry is security. He said: “In today’s era of heightened security threat, we need to see how the BEST administration handles the security aspect. The department will have to be very strict on that front.”
Transport experts welcomed the move and said the city should look at utilising other public spaces for parking. “Across the world, there is trend of mixed land-use,” said Ashok Datar, an expert from the Mumbai Environment Social Network.
“Allowing parking in depots is a good idea. But there should be discipline. Also, the city should look at places like Nariman Point for night time parking.”
Soon, you can park your car at any of the 26 bus depots around the city. BEST has devised a plan to allow private vehicles to be parked in its depots during the day, when the buses will be plying around the city. The proposal has been sent to the BMC’s 17-member BEST committee, which is expected to clear it on Monday following a discussion and debate.
BEST will charge Rs 150 for cars and Rs 75 for bikes.
Regular users can take monthly passes for, respectively, Rs 4,000 and Rs 2,000. The corresponding fee for heavy vehicles will be Rs 200 and Rs 5,000. Contractors will be appointed to manage the lots and will pat the fee collected to BEST.
According to traffic studies, Mumbai currently has day parking space for only 3.3 lakh of its 22 lakh cars. More than 50,000 cars are added every year besides motorcycles, tankers, school buses and commercial vehicles.
Sources said BEST’s depots can easily accommodate, on an average, between 30 and 100 vehicles at a time. While this may not add up to a huge number, the fact that all BEST depots are located in busy areas will help ease congestion.
For instance, in South Mumbai, the depots at Colaba and Back Bay will help ease congestion around the Fort and Nariman Point business districts.
The biggest relief, however, will be in Central Mumbai and the suburbs. In Sion and Dadar, which are perennially congested due to outstation buses and heavy vehicles, the large depots at Anik, Wadala, Prateeksha Nagar and Dharavi will go a long way in easing congestion.
Further, almost each western suburb has a large depot - Bandra, Santa Cruz, Oshiwara, Marol, Goregaon, Malwani and Malad. In the east, there are big depots at Vikhroli, Shivaji Nagar and Ghatkopar, besides smaller ones at Deonar, Kurla and Mulund.
Apilot project is already on, with people being allowed to park their cars at the Santa Cruz and Marol depots.
BEST, however, admitted that the response has not been great. They expect things to change when all depots are thrown open to the public with better publicity.
“The best thing is that BEST depots are located in prime areas and will help solve parking troubles to a large extent,” said BEST Committee Chairman Arvind Dudhwadkar, adding that he will consider it favourably. “On the other hand, BEST will get some much needed revenue. We will ensure that BEST charges people at market rates.”
The transport arm of the BEST is currently a loss-making unit. While officials refused to reveal how much they hope to raise through the plan, BEST’s annual losses are Rs 700 crore.
“Parking space will be allotted in each of the 26 depots as per their size by the respective depot managers once the proposal is passed,” a BEST spokesperson said.
The traffic police, too, welcomed the plan. Mumbai’s traffic chief, joint commissioner (traffic) BK Upadhyaya said he looked forward to the approval of the proposal. “It will indeed help greatly if it is allowed at all the depots. It will definitely help in decongesting traffic.”
BEST sources said they will ensure that regular operations are not hampered. People will have to pay a security deposit equivalent to a month’s parking charges up front. Users will also have to pay for any loss or damage to BEST property caused by them.
Congress’s Pramod Mandrekar added that his committee’s only worry is security. He said: “In today’s era of heightened security threat, we need to see how the BEST administration handles the security aspect. The department will have to be very strict on that front.”
Transport experts welcomed the move and said the city should look at utilising other public spaces for parking. “Across the world, there is trend of mixed land-use,” said Ashok Datar, an expert from the Mumbai Environment Social Network.
“Allowing parking in depots is a good idea. But there should be discipline. Also, the city should look at places like Nariman Point for night time parking.”
