The revised parking fee for bicycles and two-wheelers at the railway stations in Perambur and St. Thomas Mount have not gone well with the commuters as most of them feel that the existing rates are exorbitant, especially when compared to previous rates.
The new rates came into force on April 1 this year. Under the revised rates, Rs. 5 is charged for a bicycle parked for every 12 hours and Rs. 10, for a bike parked for the same amount of time, with or without a helmet.
The monthly fee for a two-wheeler is Rs. 300 at these two railway stations. The new rates will be in force till March 31, 2017.
“The previous fee were only half of the revised fee. In other words, earlier the same fee was charged but the vehicles were allowed to be parked for 24 hours. The duration has now been revised to 12 hours. It’s unfortunate,” said K. Thirumurugan, a commuter from Perambur.
Regarding the revision, only three suburban railway stations came up for an assessment as their pact with contractors came to an end in March.
Perambur, St. Thomas Mount and Marai Malar Nagar were taken up. However, unlike at the Marai Malar Nagar railway station, where the rates are nominal with Rs. 3 for bicycles and Rs. 5 for bikes with or without helmet for 24 hours, the rates at the two railway stations at Perambur and St.Thomas Mount are twice their previous rates.
Railway source said that the new rates had been fixed based on the market value of the space available at these two railway stations. “Land in Perambur and St.Thomas Mount is far more expensive one in Marai Malar Nagar, which is far away from the city. Further, both the stations such as Perambur and St. Thomas Mount have limited space for parking but have to accommodate a large number of vehicles,” said a railway official.
Each of these two railway stations has a flow of around 50,000 commuters every day. On the other hand, the parking space at these two stations can accommodate only around 500 vehicles.
Earlier, when the parking fee was nominal, many outsiders (not commuters) preferred to park their vehicles inside these stations at least for three reasons. First, the parking fee was low. Second, the vehicles are safe within the premises of the station as the area is guarded by private contractors and policemen, who make routine rounds at the station. Finally, lack of suitable open spaces outside these two stations make it convenient for outsiders to park their vehicles at these stations. To curb this trend and also for better utilisation of its resources (open spaces), the Southern Railway revised the new rates at these two stations.
