Anything for the traffic

Anything for the traffic

Deccan Herald

Sohail Yusuff is secretary, Brigade Road Shop & Establishment Association (BSEA). He is also the proprietor of Radio House. The credit of introducing automated car parking in Bangalore largely rests with Sohail. In June 2004, the first batch of these parking machines were installed on Brigade Road. Inspired by their success, the traders association of MG Road and Commercial Streets approached him to help them get these gadgets to solve their perennial parking woes. By April, both the roads will have their own automated parking system. Sohail is now in the process of buying an automatic gate for the Brigade Road crossing. He is also getting two Dollys to assist in toeing off illegally parked cars. Metrolife chats with Sohail on his initiatives and the motivation behind them.

When did the idea of automated car parking strike you?
Four years ago there was a fear of parking being removed from Brigade Road because it had become unmanageable. Most of the shop keepers on the road used to park their cars here for the whole day. We sent a circular to the shopowners, who are also members of the BSEA, asking them not to park their cars on Brigade Road.

They agreed. But soon we found that office people from nearby areas began parking their vehicles for the whole day. It was then I thought of automated car parking system.

It seemed to be the only solution. Former chief minister S M Krishna approved of the concept and we bought eight machines from Smart Interpark, Malaysia. I went to Malaysia to get the deal going.

What’s been the contribution of BSEA?
The price of the machines, worth approximately Rs 40 lakh, has been entirely borne by the association. We share 50 per cent of the revenue with Bangalore Mahanagar Palike. Apart from this, we pay for their maintenance and security.

Besides parking, how else has the new system helped?
The traffic flow on the road has eased to a large extent. We don’t have the problem of double parking, and since one cannot park a vehicle for more than two hours, we have also done away with unwanted people. Pollution has also decreased considerably and shopping has gone up by 30 per cent. Recently, we tied up with Citibank for refund of parking fee.Those who shop on Brigade Road with a Citibank card have their parking fee refunded by the stores.

When will MG Road have its automated parking?
Hopefully by April this year. They have already placed an order for 10 machines, nine for cars and one for two wheelers.

What about the automatic crossing gate?
People do not follow traffic rules hence we are soon going have an automatic gate for pedestrians on the entrance of Brigade Road.

This will have an in-built signalling and announcement system to let people know about the closing time of the gate.

And the Dolly?
It’s a gadget with wheels, which gets under the chassis of cars and lifts them up. Dolly will help in lifting cars and bringing them to the level of Tigers where they can be hooked to them without damaging the vehicle. We are getting two of them. They are priced at Rs 80,000 each. The price is again being borne by BSEA.

What’s your motivation?
An accident a couple of years ago, when I was knocked unconscious by a girder while crossing a road. I was immediately rushed to Manipal Hospital by a traffic police vehicle and given timely medical help. I had 27 stitches on my head and three fractures on my spine. I feel I owe my life to traffic police in Bangalore. I will do anything to help them.