BENGALURU: Despite frequent discussions about last mile connectivity, a fundamental necessity—parking—remains absent at a significant portion of the Metro network. Out of the present 68 operational stations, 14 lack designated parking spaces, leaving commuters with limited options. While three of these stations may get parking facilities over time, the rest will remain without this amenity, said top officials of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL).
Garudacharpalaya and Sri Sathya Sai Hospital Metro stations on the Purple Line are the latest stations to be added to the ‘non parking station list’, though they both had parking spaces initially.
A senior official told TNIE, “A year after bagging the contract, the licensees at both the stations cited their inability to run the facility profitably and have reneged on their contract. Most commuters were not using the facility. Since they walked out of the contract mid-way, we had to blacklist them. Despite two rounds of tendering, there has been no response,” he said. BMRCL has now handed over the space to the team for property development, the official added. Only Metro staff are presently allowed to park their vehicles at these stations.
The other Metro stations with no parking space are MG Road, Cubbon Park, Vidhana Soudha, Sir M Visvesvaraiah, Gorguntapalaya, Yeswanthpur, Srirampura, KR market, Lalbagh, South End Circle, RV Road, Benniganahalli and Srirampura, said an official and added that the parking at Benniganahalli has been temporarily shut. “In Benniganahalli, one of the newer stations, we closed the parking facility as work related to escalators is presently on. It will be re-opened when that job is completed,” said another official.
In RV Road Metro station, the tender will be called soon so that the facility is opened before the Yellow Line is launched. “In Srirampura, we have identified land where parking can be opened and we will call tenders for it shortly,” he added.
In the CBD area, Gorguntapalaya and Yeshwanthpur, space is just not available near stations for parking. “In case some land is available, the price quoted for the land is exorbitant. Hence, it will not be possible to have parking facility in these stations,” he explained.