Soon, FASTag-enabled car parking at Ahmedabad airport

AHMEDABAD: Transiting through the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) airport in Ahmedabad will be a little easier with less of parking hassles and waiting in queues. On lines of Mumbai airport, the city airport too will soon get a FASTag-enabled car parking access. Sources privy to the development confirmed the facility will be introduced this month itself.
Explaining how the new system will work, a well-placed source privy to the development said, "The new parking system will work in a similar way as the FASTag-enabled toll gates.
Cars will have to pass through an access-barrier when they enter the airport parking facility, and the FASTag affixed on the car will be scanned.
Later, when passengers exit the parking space, based on the time spent in the parking, the applicable parking fee will be directly debited from the car's FASTag account."
A similar system was implemented at the Mumbai airport in December itself. The FASTag-enabled parking system is part of the larger parking automation project of the SVPI airport.
"FASTag-enabled parking system will enable cashless transactions and reduce the turnaround time for entering and exiting a parking space and the waiting period at the parking. It will also help reduce traffic congestion at parking checkpoints at the airport. The idea is to reduce human intervention and make it a smooth process for transiting passengers," the source said.
At present, the SVPI airport operator charges at least Rs 90 for parking a private/commercial/SUV car for 30 minutes.
The same for a tempo or minibus comes to Rs 300, and for a coach or bus Rs 500. Charges go further up as the parking duration extends.
SVPI airport witnesses a movement of at least 37,000 passengers in a day. Sources said an estimated 15,000 cars, including private and commercial vehicles, ply through the city airport on a daily basis. This is over and above the two-wheelers and coaches that arrive at the city airport.
Relevant authorities are also mulling over implementing a pre-payment option for parking.
"In case the customers are not availing the FASTag option, just before exiting, they can also scan a QR code and make a pre-payment for their parking duration. This way, passengers can directly exit the airport. A system is being worked out and will soon be in place," said a source.