Parking: An area of multiple problems, few solutions

Rahul Singh

About a month ago, the Mumbai municipal authorities attempted to tackle a vexing issue that actually goes beyond that city and affects all those owning or driving any kind of motorised vehicle, whether motorcycles, cars, vans, rickshaws, buses or trucks. I am referring specifically to parking. In other words, occupying with your vehicle a public space for a period of time. After all, a road or a pavement does not belong to us as private individuals, but to the government. And its use is chargeable. I am familiar with the parking problem in Mumbai and Delhi (I own a small car in each city), where I spend most of my time. I am sure parking is a problem in other cities like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kolkata as well. It is acute even in hill stations such as Shimla, Mussoorie, Nainital, Solan, Kodi and Ooty.

Kasauli, in Himachal Pradesh, where I have an ancestral home, is among the smaller hill stations. One would have thought parking would be easy there. Wrong! On weekends, those living in and near Chandigarh, swarm Kasauli, a short drive away, to enjoy the cool climate and take in the pristine mountain air. Then, Kasauli becomes a traffic nightmare, with cars backed up end to end, unable to find anywhere to park. The authorities in these hill stations have been struggling to find a solution without any success.

In Mumbai, a month ago, fines for parking in “no parking” areas were increased steeply — anywhere between Rs 5,000 and  Rs 10,000, depending on the type of vehicle involved. There was a rider, though: The fines would only be levied if the illegal parking was done when there was a “designated” parking lot within 500 metres. The upshot of this drastic measure was a dramatic increase in the vehicle occupancy of the designated parking lots and freer flow of traffic on roads, which were earlier clogged with parked vehicles. A lot of car owners complained, of course. Who wants to pay for parking when you can get it free? We are always looking for the easiest and cheapest way out — and to hell with the public interest. 

In most Western countries, charges for parking in the major metropolitan centres are very heavy — the equivalent of several thousand rupees for a few hours —  and fines for illegal parking even heavier. Most people there think twice before driving into town, especially on a working day and during office hours. They restrict going to town mainly to weekends and evenings. Some cities, like London and Singapore, have a “congestion” charge to deter cars from entering the city during working hours. In Singapore, you have to pay much more than the regular price to buy a car. The intention is clear: To have a fewer private cars in the city and, thereby, making traffic flow smoother. I believe it was the same well-meant motive in Mumbai, and it produced good results. It needs to be extended to all parts of the city. But for it to succeed, more “designated” parking lots have to be built. At the moment, there aren’t nearly enough. Other cities that face this growing problem must do the same.

However, that is only a part of the solution, and that, too, the easier part. The harder part, as well as the longer-term solution, is to improve and extend public transport. The West, along with several developed Asian countries like Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan have gone about it the right way. They have made it very costly for the motoring public to drive and park in their main cities during working days. So, only the affluent can afford it. However, at the same time, they have made their public transport so good that the vast majority of the people happily use it, even the relatively well off. Many of them can afford to buy a car, but they do not as they are happy using public transport. But if they do decide to own a car, they usually keep it at home and use it only on weekends to go to the countryside or into town as it is much easier, and cheaper, to park than on working days.

To me, that’s the more “socialist” way of tackling the vexing parking problem. Our approach, on the other hand, has essentially been feudal in nature, privileging private motorists rather than the general public. This has led to many incidents in Delhi and Mumbai, where brutal physical fights have taken place over parking. Somebody has parked in another person’s “reserved” space and refuses to vacate it. So, they come to blows. A well-known former Test cricketer-turned politician did exactly that with tragic consequences. Hot-heads have even taken out guns and shot those who dared to oppose them.

One evening in Delhi’s congested Green Park area, I parked in a very crowded colony, on a narrow public road. However, since the road was right in front of a residence, the resident felt only he had the right to park there. So, when I returned to my car, I found the tyres had been deflated. I was forced to take a taxi home and retrieve my car the next day. Mind you, I had legitimately parked on a public road, where anybody could park, not just the person who owned the facing house. Yet, that particular resident felt the public space was his alone for parking his car. However, on reflection, I felt I was lucky. Having your car’s tyres flattened is better than being shot dead or bludgeoned to death.

— The writer is a veteran journalist