Technology to reduce parking woes at railway station

Technology to reduce parking woes at railway station
The Times of India

Bangalore: With parking lot attendants taking people for a ride, the railway authorities are putting their faith in technology. Computerised parking coupons for four-wheelers will soon be introduced at the City railway station to make sure that visitors are not overcharged.

“We introduced the computerised coupons for two-wheelers in December and plan to start the system for four-wheelers in four months,’’ said South Western Railway senior divisional commercial manager S Gagarin.
The computerised coupon for four-wheelers will be similar to those for two-wheelers. Every driver will get a coupon which will have the date, vehicle type (two- or four-wheeler), vehicle number and the vehicle’s entry time into the parking lot.

While leaving, the driver needs to give the vehicle number at the exit gate and will be given a computer printout which will list the duration for which the vehicle was parked and the amount to be paid.
While there is only one coupon counter for two-wheelers, there will be two counters for four-wheelers.

These counters will be handled by private contractors on a tender basis for three years. “We will have surprise checks at the counters but the scope for overcharging drivers is minimal,’’ officials said.

The price slab for two-wheelers and four-wheelers remains the same as earlier but “we may increase the rates for four-wheelers to ensure that the vehicles parked belong to those who have come to the station and not of those who have parked and left the premises,’’ added Gagarin.

There are plans to introduce such a system at the Cantonment Railway Station. “We are yet to approach the contractor handling the parking there but we’re keen on implementing it there as well.’’

“If we receive complaints that the contractor is violating the parking rates we will not only fine him with Rs 5,000 per instance and terminate his contract but also blacklist him for future projects,’’ said Gagarin.

PARKING RATES FOUR-WHEELERS
0 - 4 hours: Rs 5 4 - 8 hours: Rs 10 8 - 16 hours: Rs 15 16 - 24 hours: Rs 20 TWO-WHEELERS
0 - 2 hours: Rs 3 2 - 4 hours: Rs 5 4 - 10 hours: Rs 10 10 - 16 hours: Rs 15 16 - 24 hours: Rs 20