Bengaluru: Want to get to your office on MG Road? Just drive to the nearest Metro station, park your car and take the Metro. Namma Metro is truly a boon to commuters who want to travel to the central business districts and beyond.
But along with the new facility, a whole host of new problems have cropped up as well. Parking is one of the major problems. With parking in most Metro stations full during working hours, people park their vehicles on access roads heading towards Metro stations.
Consider MG Road for that matter. One has to drive all the way to Brigade Road or Commercial Street to find parking, if not lucky enough to find place on MG Road.
Another sore spot is Byyappanahalli on the Purple Line, an area which sees a confluence of both Metro and railway commuters. Both Byyappanahalli Metro and railway stations are next to each other. The rear section of the Metro station brims with autos and taxis waiting to pick up potential commuters, choking the NGEF road.
The Swami Vivekananda Metro station too has parking problems. The BMRCL has not been able to provide parking at many stations. Suneet Singh Puri, a commuter, says that parking is a problem is very evident.
“I live in Indiranagar and use the Metro every time I’m back in the city. The fact that there is very less parking space at Byyappannahalli is disappointing. The last time I decided to park at Byyappanahalli and take the Metro to MG Road, I was frustrated as there was no space, so we decided to drive all the way,” he says with a hint of disappointment.
Namrata Jagadish works as a techie for an MNC near MG Road. “I live in Kasturi Nagar. I park my car every day at the Swami Vivekananda station and take the Metro to MG Road,” she says.
According to her, lack of parking is appalling. “It is shocking that the parking is almost always full. The BMRCL should have planned better. What is the use of leaving your car and using the Metro when there is no parking space for your car? Might as well drive all the way,” she says.
