From May, you can book BMC parking slot online

From May, you can book BMC parking slot online

Mumbai: Motorists in the city will soon be able to book slots in the BMC’s parking lots from their homes. The civic body is planning to implement a web-based parking system from May 1, which will spare motorists the hassle of finding parking space in the city while also preventing overcharging by contractors.
    The BMC will soon invite tenders for handheld devices and a software that will allow motorists to check the availability of parking space and make bookings online. The handheld scanner will be used by a parking attendant to maintain a record of the parked vehicles in the lot.
    Data on the occupancy of parking lots will be saved in a main server, and motorists will be issued computerized receipts.
    On Wednesday, a proposal to appoint a private contractor for manning the parking lots was cleared in the standing committee meeting. The contractor will be responsible for security, cash collection and managing the handheld device.
    The cost of manning parking lots along with security is Rs 75 lakh. At present, there are 92 public parking lots, and 47 locations called spot tender locations — these locations are decided by the individual ward with a spot quotation.
    The proposal was mooted after the civic administration received a number of complaints about cheating at parking lots, especially in the island city, through overcharging by contractors. The new system will also help the BMC ensure there is no evasion of revenue.
    Samajwadi party leader Rais Shaikh said: “Before creating a liability of Rs 75 lakh, the BMC should share with us how much revenue you were able to collect in the last three months?”