Car occupants will be handed printed documents mentioning the time while entering and exiting parking bays on 61 stretches in Kolkata by Saturday. Cash payment of parking fees will stop on these stretches and all payments have to be made digitally.
The new system, which was inaugurated by mayor Firhad Hakim on Wednesday, promises to stop overcharging by parking attendants and bring transparency.
The Telegraph explains the new system
In and out time
Car occupants will be handed a printed piece of paper mentioning the time the vehicle enters a parking lot. On leaving they will be given a second document mentioning the exit time and the parking fee to be paid, said an official of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC).
An occupant can challenge instantly if a wrong entry or exit time is given.
App, payment
Car owners can download the app “s-Parking” from Google Play Store (android phones) and App Store (i-Phones). “The app will have the list of the stretches where the new system will work, along with the capacity of each parking lot, parking rates and the number of vacant slots at any given point in time,” the official said.
The parking agencies have been provided with point of sales (POS) machines for accepting digital payments. “One hundred-and-twenty-five POS machines are being provided for now. Cash payments won’t be accepted on these 61 stretches,” the official said.
Stretches
The new system will come into effect on a stretch opposite The Oberoi Grand in Esplanade, small stretches along Gariahat Road (South), Hindustan Park, Creek Row, Middleton Street, Rafi Ahmed Kidwai Road, Wood Street, Hare Street, Metcalfe Lane and Sudder Street, among other stretches.
Payment modes
One can pay through a debit or credit card or make UPI payments. Users can also scan the QR code, which will be available on the POS machines, and pay the parking fee.
Remote payment
People not comfortable with digital payments can ask a family member or any acquaintance to pay from a remote location. A text message with a payment link will be sent to the phone of the person who will pay from a remote location.
Once the payment is received, the car can leave.
Rates
Cars: Rs 10 an hour from 7am till 10pm and Rs 30 an hour from 10pm to 7am.
Two-wheelers: Rs 5 an hour from 7am to 10pm and Rs 10 an hour from 10pm to 7am.
Two-wheelers
Debasish Kumar, mayoral council member in charge of the KMC’s parking department, said two-wheelers had been kept out of the ambit of digital payments for now.
