BENGALURU: The Metro’s purple line from Byappanahalli to Mysore Road may be proving popular with a large number of commuters making use of it every day, but complaints are pouring in about lack of adequate parking space near the stations.
With people from as far as 5 kms making their way to the Metro's East West corridor to reach their destinations in the Central Business District, demand is growing for two and four- wheeler parking facility for a nominal fee at the stations enroute.
Says urban expert, R. K. Misra , “As the city does not have adequate last mile connectivity all Metro stations need to have parking facility to encourage the public to make use of the trains. The BMRCL,which should have acquired land for parking when planning the Metro Rail, must at least now provide more space for two -wheeler parking at its stations and try to build multi-level parking facilities on a public- private partnership basis on vacant plots nearby.” He also strongly recommends strengthening the Metro Rail’s feeder service and allowing autorickshaws at all stations.
BMRCL spokesperson U. A. Vasantha Rao, however, claims it could not provide parking at all Metro stations owing to paucity of land. "However, it is available at about 18 stations currently and we hope to extend the facility to more stations on a pay -and -park basis. Tenders have been floated for introducing pay- and- park at the Mysore Road , Magadi Road and Vijayanagar road stations," he says, adding, "In the meanwhile people will have to make use of the parking facility at nearby stations.”
