Motorists will have something to cheer about as bus depots across the city will soon be a viable option for parking. The BEST committee during a meeting on Tuesday passed a resolution to slash parking charges at bus depots.
BEST officials said the parking authority of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had asked them in a special meeting on July 17 to reduce the rates and make the depots more accessible. In the earlier rate structure, BEST charged ₹200, ₹150 and ₹75 for heavy vehicles, light vehicles and two-wheelers respectively for a period of 12 hours. BEST has had parking charges in force since 2015, but it did not gain popularity since one had to pay charges for a minimum of 12 hours.
Under the new structure, the rates are divided into four slabs: up to three hours, three to six hours, six to 12 hours, over 12 hours. The rates have also reduced drastically across all segments. Two-wheeler riders, for instance, would need to pay ₹30 to park for 12 hours, down from ₹75 in the earlier structure.
BEST committee members, while approving the new rate structure, cautioned the administration and asked them to review the success of the rate revision after six months. They also questioned why only the BEST was asked to do this when other agencies like the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, Mumbai Port Trust also have ample open spaces in the city.
After BEST panel’s nod, the new rate will be ₹20, ₹25, ₹30, ₹35 and ₹660 and ₹1,320, respectively for three-hours, six hours, 12 hours, more than 12 hours, monthly 12 hours and monthly 24 hours. For other class of vehicles, similar type of fees has been introduced in the new proposal.