What exactly are motorists paying for?

The payandpark system of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation BMC has often remained in the news for the wrong reasons And now with the proposed hike in parking charges it has once again become a major talking point among MumbaikarsIn Mumbai today finding a parking spot feels less like city management and more like a daily headache for ordinary citizensA motorist enters a payandpark zone hands over cash to a parking attendant gets a small paper slip and leaves hoping everything is genuine Many times the attendant has no proper ID card no digital machine and no clear proof of authority In a city where even vegetable vendors use QR codes Mumbairsquos parking system still relies heavily on cash collectionNow the BMC wants to increase parking charges across the city But before asking citizens to pay more people are asking one simple question what exactly are they paying forBecause the current system lacks transparency and proper management Across Mumbai motorists regularly complain about overcharging fake parking attendants and reused receipts In some places cash is collected without proper slips In others citizens are unsure whether the person taking money is genuinely authorised by the BMC or simply operating uncheckedWhat is worrying is that this has slowly become normalAt a time when technology allows every transaction to be tracked instantly many BMC parking spots still have no proper digital payment system no live monitoring and very little accountability This creates a huge loophole If collections were fully digitised citizens could easily know the official rates fake collections could reduce and revenue leakages could be controlledBut Mumbai still operates an outdated roadside cash system in the name of parking managementEven basic information is often missing at parking locations In many places there is only a small ldquoBMC Pay and Parkrdquo board There is usually no clear mention of the contractorrsquos name parking timings number of vehicles allowed or the exact parking boundaries This confusion gives parking attendants too much unofficial powerTake Borivli as an example In some commercial areas motorists claim parking attendants stop them from parking outside certain shops claiming shopkeepers object to it This raises a serious question are Mumbairsquos public roads controlled by the BMC or by private businesses Or is the parking contractor operating beyond authorised limitsCitizens also feel that parking rules are enforced more aggressively in quieter residential lanes and near gardens while heavily congested roads outside malls restaurants and banquet halls remain poorly managed If the real purpose of parking policy is to reduce congestion why does enforcement appear weakest where traffic problems are actually the worstThis is why many citizens now feel that parking is slowly turning into a roadside tax collection system The formula appears simple identify places where easy money can be collected and keep expanding paid parking thereFor many middleclass families parking fees are no longer a small expense Between rising fuel prices toll charges traffic fines and expensive vehicle maintenance citizens already feel financially stretchedNow even stopping a vehicle for a short time outside markets railway stations or hospitals often means paying parking charges Citizens are not opposing discipline or organised parking What they are asking for is fairness transparency and proper facilities in return for the money being collected from them every single day In a city as advanced and expensive as Mumbai people expect better systems not more confusionVehicle numbers have increased massively over the years but planned parking infrastructure has not kept pace Several multilevel parking projects are delayed impractical or underused In many places expensive parking buildings remain empty while vehicles continue occupying public roads outsideNo one denies that parking regulation is necessary A city like Mumbai cannot function without discipline But regulation without transparency starts feeling like exploitationBefore increasing parking charges the BMC must first fix the system itself Every parking spot should have digital payment facilities proper signboards GPSmarked parking boundaries and complete contractor details displayed publicly Citizens should know exactly where their money is goingThe BMC still has an opportunity to rebuild public trust But increasing parking fees without fixing fake collections confusion and poor planning sends the wrong messageA growing number of Mumbaikars now believe that inconvenience itself has become an urban business model And that may be far more dangerous for the city than traffic congestion itselfSanjeev Shivadekar is political editor midday He tweets SanjeevShivadekSend your feedback to mailbagmiddaycomThe views expressed in this column are the individualrsquos and donrsquot represent those of the paper