Commuters oppose high parking fee at incomplete Mysuru Rd Metro station

The Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd (BMRCL) has granted a licence to collect fees of up to Rs 60 for parking on a muddy area with no protection from the sun and rain at the Mysuru Road Metro station.

The Karnataka Commercial and Industrial Corporation Pvt Ltd (KCIC) has been charging Rs 30 (two-wheelers) and Rs 60 (four-wheelers) a day for parking on an undeveloped land since Sunday. Spread over two acres, the piece of land can accommodate at least 1,700 two-wheelers, 240 four-wheelers and 10 light commercial vehicles (LCVs) apart from bicycles.

However, the decision has not gone down well with those who park their vehicles before boarding the Metro. “I would definitely think twice before boarding the Metro from now as BMRCL is charging parking fee here. In addition to Rs 1,400 as Metro fare, I will have to spend around Rs 1,500 to park my four-wheeler and a little more on its fuel. It looks like cab aggregators are cheaper,” Sandeep J N, who commutes from Nagarabhavi to MG Road said and wanted BMRCL to reduce the fee in the absence of proper facilities.

“I used to park here before going to office and returned for lunch always. With a pay-and-park system in place, I will have to spend more. The contractors should allow us to take vehicles out as and when we want charging only those who park for the entire day,” Lohit Rao, who lives close to RV College said.

Karthik Prabhu, who lives in Kengeri too was not happy since the area is devoid of basic facilities and the uncovered parking area has no lighting or cemented surface. “I used to take the Metro for short distances to travel up to Vijayanagar and Deepanjalinagar. Many commuters would be discouraged from taking the Metro if BMRCL wants to make money through parking fees. It’s simply not fair,” he opined.However, Rohan Sharath and Mahathi Amencherla, students of PES University had a different take on the matter. “We will definitely take a Metro to go to Church Street when the traffic is bad. Besides, parking would be organised and safe. At the same time, BMRCL can think of charging those who commute daily unlike us,” Sharath said. Responding to these claims, BMRCL chief public relations officer (CPRO) U A Vasanth Rao said, “There were complaints about haphazardly parked vehicles blocking cars and two-wheelers.

Hence, we outsourced the task to professional contractors to man the place. We have given 40 days’ time to develop the parking lot with hollow-blocks and concrete surface as well as modern equipment for ticketing facilities at the entry and exit gates,” he said and added that KCIC won the contract for Rs 2.60 crore for two-years.
DH  News Service