Book BMC parking space on app, courtesy IITian

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has implemented the concept of a Mumbai based IITian to formulate the idea of setting up parking spaces in residential spaces of the city.

Akash Gupta, 27, has designed a mobile app, 'Otopark', for housing societies willing to rent out parking spaces. Otopark is also the first-ever mobile app designed in India to provide online booking of parking spaces in the city.

Gupta, a chemical engineering graduate, funded the development after he received a scholarship from the IIT-Bombay. He said the idea to develop an app came to him after he came across a news article that BMC was looking for private parking spaces in residential complexes to be used for public.

“In Mumbai, parking has always been an issue. I have worked with multi-nationals providing service on smart city innovation. I had to solve the problem but I didn't have the platform initially,” said Gupta.

The app will provide information on the availability of BMC-operated parking lots in its zones in the city. The users could also book a parking slot online by providing the details of vehicles and driving license following which an e-ticket will be generated in the app.

Owners of private parking zones will also be able to rent out their spaces for commercial parkings by enlisting their property and geo-tagging them in the app.

“After the beta version of the app was developed, I pitched the idea of the app to the BMC additional municipal commissioner, Vijay Singhal, who liked the idea and roped us in,” Gupta stated.

The functionality of the app will be supervised by the BMC's urban planning department, who will also be monitoring the data as well.

“Parking is a severe issue in the city. BMC is innovating ways to solve parking problems and reduce traffic congestion. Mumbaikars can book parking spaces and also rent out their spaces which will also help them generate revenue,” said a BMC official.

Meanwhile, housing societies have embraced the plan and are ready to rent out their private parking spaces for commercial spaces.

Bakul Housing Society in Bandra (East) and Manish Market Society in Dadar (West) will free their parking lots for two and four-wheelers. The two societies will charge Rs50 per hour and a monthly pass would cost Rs4,000. “A lot of people come to work at Bandra and BKC and there are not enough adequate parking facilities. We have leased out the spaces as a social cause and BMC has already verified the registered spaces which will be operational by the first week of March,” said Prafulla Pangaonkar, secretary of Bakul Housing Society, Bandra.