KOCHI: The Kochi Metro Rail Ltd’s (KMRL) decision to increase parking fees at four stations has brought attention to a larger challenge facing the network as it expands through Phase II – the availability of parking space at stations.
The fee hike at Aluva, MG Road, Vadakkekotta and Tripunithura comes at a time when parking facilities at the four stations are seeing huge demand. KMRL says the move aims at discouraging non-commuters from occupying parking spaces for long periods and ensuring that metro passengers get priority.
However, the situation has raised questions about whether parking demand was adequately factored into the planning of the expanding metro network.
KMRL MD Loknath Behera said additional land for parking was not acquired for both phase 1 and 2 metro stations as acquisition was expensive and time-consuming. “Not a single station has got an inch of parking area; it is overcrowded. It was done to reduce the cost of land acquisition, so there is no parking area,” Loknath Behera told TNIE.
The constraint could become more significant as Phase II extends the metro network and brings more passengers to stations.
One solution that the KMRL is considering is acquiring land from private owners near metro stations to create additional parking facilities.
“It is a serious concern. Almost none of the stations have adequate parking space. We are looking at acquiring private land near the stations and sharing the parking revenue with the landowners,” a source close to Behera said.
Why was parking fee hiked?
KMRL said non-commuters, including railways passengers, local shopkeepers and others, were occupying parking spaces at metro stations for long periods as the fee there was lower than those of other agencies.
For two-wheelers, the first two-hour charge has now been raised from `5 to `10, while the weekly pass rate has gone up from Rs 125 to `150 at the Aluva, MG Road, Vadakkekotta and Tripunithura stations. For cars, the first two-hour charge has been increased from `15 to `20, while weekly and monthly passes now cost `400 and `1,500, respectively.
Demand in rise
The fee hike at Aluva, MG Road, Vadakkekotta and Tripunithura comes at a time when parking facilities at the four stations are seeing huge demand
It has raised questions about whether parking demand was factored into the planning of the expanding metro network
For two-wheelers, the first two-hour charge has now been raised to `10