A vehicle with Calcutta Municipal Corporation parking rates on display will move the streets of Calcutta from Friday to ensure people are not fleeced by parking attendants.

Mayor Firhad Hakim flagged off the vehicle from the CMC headquarters on Thursday.

The display board has a message urging people to pay the stipulated fee to an attendant in blue uniform with an identity card and visit the CMC website for any question related to parking.

A person will announce the rates and the message in case people fail to see the vehicle.

Another vehicle with a similar display board will be launched soon, a CMC official said. The civic body wants everyone to know the actual parking rates because many don’t know and end up paying the attendants more, the official said.

The Telegraph

“We have come across people who have paid Rs 20 for an hour (four-wheeler) without realising that the attendant had charged him more than the actual fee,” he said. “If people are aware of the rates they will refuse to pay extra.”

The parking rate for a two-wheeler from 7am to 10pm is Rs 5/hour and for cars, vans, and minibuses Rs 10/hour. The rates increase to Rs 10/hour and Rs 30/hour respectively from 10pm to 7am.

The Telegraph has reported on several occasions how parking attendants fleece people and do not allow people to park if they refuse to pay more.

The message urges people to accept receipts generated by hand-held machines and electronic receipts sent via the parking app to mobile phones. The receipts should have the entry and exit time.