With offices reopening in a phase wise manner, people are driving to work in their personal vehicles as local trains and BEST buses are still not operational in full strength. As private vehicles hit the roads, people are facing parking woes in business hubs, particularly at the Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC).
Management consultant Rohit Shah, who resumed office at BKC from August said that more cars have started to come at BKC each day. “The MMRDA parking ground remains jam packed every day,” he said. The Mumbai police has warned people not to park their vehicles on the roads. “The parking space is full throughout the day. Where are we supposed to park our car then?” asked Asif Sheikh, a corporate professional.
Piyali Mehta, a marketing strategist, said that commercial buildings in BKC are charging exorbitant parking fees. “Some of the hotels have opened up their spaces for parking but the charges are very high" Mehta adds.
The commuters stated, the parking tariff in hotels and commercial buildings vary around Rs 250-Rs 300 for first two hours, following which for every 30 minutes an extra, Rs 50 is added. The MMRDA parking grounds charges Rs 250 for a full day parking.
Before the COVID-19 outbreak the parking problems were there, but those were floating commuters, daily passengers would prefer to travel by public transport. Urban planner and transport expert, Ashok Datar said the administration needs to increase the number of buses. ”The only way to eradicate this problem is by improving public transport infrastructure," Datar said. “By making parking spaces, the problem would be solved temporarily. Unless citizens are encouraged to use public transport, the parking problem will not be solved,” he added.
