Cabs, buses aplenty, but no space to park

WAY OUT Govt will make it mandatory for commercial vehicles to show proof of parking space to get permits renewed but transporters say that won’t be easy

NEW DELHI: From around April next year, transport vehicles such as taxis, buses and trucks will have to show proof of parking to get their permits renewed, the state transport department said on Friday.

Quoting the Delhi Maintenance and Management of Parking Places Rules, 2019, notified in September this year, the department said such commercial vehicles, in a first, will also get designated spaces for parking at night.

“We are working on a notification wherein permits for commercial vehicles will be issued strictly based on parking proof for that particular vehicle. The parking rules say the notification has to be brought out in public at least three months in advance. So, we are hoping the rule will come into force from some time in April next year,” said a senior transport official.

But before that, the government said the municipal corporations will have to identify parking areas, which as per rules can even include certain roads, for such vehicles. This is because the parking proof certificates will be given only by authorised parking contractors of the civic bodies. These certificates will be valid for a period of one year.

The South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) said it has, so far, already identified around 12 parking spaces. “Tenders for these lots will be done in the next 15 days. For the first time, we are going to provide authorised parking for commercial transport vehicles. The number of vehicles that the identified plots will accommodate range from 50 to 150,” said Prem Shankar Jha, Deputy Commissioner and in-charge of Remunerative Projects (RP) Cell, SDMC.

The North Delhi Municipal Corporation said it too has begun conducting night inspections to identify vacant plots in its jurisdiction. “Most trucks start parking from around 12 midnight. We found the average parking time of a bus or a cab is about six hours. Maximum it extends up to 8 hours,” an official of the north corporation said.

But transporters say implementing these parking rules will be easier said than done. Some even warned the rules may see resistance from truckers, cab drivers and bus owners.

Rajender Kapoor, convener, United Front of Transporters Association, did not agree with the idea that transporters would have to pay for night-time parking once the MCDs open up designated spaces for trucks, cabs, buses, etc.

“It is good if MCDs have finally been asked to find parking lots for transport vehicles. But, why should we be asked to pay for parking? We have already been paying such fees, but no infrastructure was created. We are forced to park on arterial roads and in colonies,” he said.

The MCDs did not comment on the likely parking fee, saying it was an issue that will be decided by the Base Parking Fee committee and the Apex Monitoring Committee, as mandated under the parking rules.

Harish Sabharwal, general secretary of the Delhi Contract Buses Association, said the government and the civic agencies first needed to give an account of where the money collected in the form of fitness test fees were spent.

“All owners of buses, trucks, cabs and other transport vehicles have already been burning a hole in their pockets as they pay as much as Rs 8,000 for fitness tests, which includes MCD’s parking charges,” he said.

Since 2004, all transport vehicles either have to pay Rs 8,000 for a fitness certificate valid up to two years or Rs 4,000 for the same certificate with a validity of one year.

“We were told the collected money would be used to build parking spaces for our transport vehicles. But, nothing happened. Through RTIs, we are told that till now at least Rs 1,200 crore has been collected. But, not one dedicated space was created for commercial vehicles to date,” Sabharwal said.

The municipal corporations, on the other hand, say the clause under the notified parking rules to organise parking for transport vehicles will unclog several arterial roads.

“It will bring a sense of safety among people as at present. We see cabs parked at night in residential areas as well as in main arterial roads. The parking policy now allows night-time parking of commercial vehicles on the condition that they would be located far from residential areas and not hinder the smooth flow of traffic,” said Jha.

While some transporters wondered how certificates of parking will be verified by civic agencies given an acute staff shortage, others asked if transport vehicles registered in other states too will be allowed parking at night.

SP Singh, senior fellow at Indian Foundation of Transport Research, said that in case of commercial vehicles, merely creating parking areas in isolation will not be enough. “Commercial vehicles need to be parked at designated spaces, but these areas need to be supported by necessary infrastructure such a providing garage space to carry out repair and maintenance work. Such spaces should specifically be created along Delhi’s borders,” he said.

Singh asked if it would be fair to charge transport vehicles registered in Delhi for night parking. “The fee for using these night parking areas in Delhi can be charged from transport vehicles registered in other states. Delhi-registered commercial vehicles are already paying CD for parking, it will be unfair to charge them again,” he said.

CAB POPULATION UP

The government also said that with the advent of mobile application-based cab aggregators, the number of taxis running in Delhi has gone up manifold. Even as no study has been done on the total number of cabs plying in Delhi, transport data suggests the city has nearly a lakh registered taxis as of now. After including cabs coming from neighbouring states, it is estimated that nearly two lakh cabs ply on city roads every day.

The problem, according to the transport department, is that these cabs, especially those registered in other states, end up parking in residential areas — clogging local streets and market areas.

But, cab drivers say they are left with little option.

“Where do we park otherwise? Sometime we have to take just a short nap in between trips. I own this cab, but there a number of people who have given out their cars to drivers. These car owners have three to four cabs plying for them as they pay the drivers a monthly fixed salary. Obviously they can’t park all the cabs in front of their homes,” said Himmat Singh, a cab owner from Geeta Colony who operates with aggregators.

Another driver wondered if cab drivers would ever use paid parking facilities. “Paid parking is available even now with MCDs and other agencies. These are mostly empty at night. But, do you see any cabs using these facilities to park at night? No. So, even if dedicated space is created for cabs. it is to be seen how many will use the service if it is offered against a fee. Unless, action to prevent illegal parking is stepped up,” said Moinul Haq, a driver who drives a UP registered cab in Delhi-NCR cities.