With the Kochi metro expected to get a regular passenger clientele in a month or two of its launch, efforts are underway to prepare multi-tier parking lots in stations to make optimal use of space.
The Kochi Metro Rail Limited (KMRL) has evinced interest in involving private players in the venture. The agency had earlier offered help to firms/individuals who are willing to operate pay-and-park lots near metro stations, following which a few firms made presentations on their ideas.
The 11 stations on the Aluva-Palarivattom stretch have parking space for 350 cars and 650 two-wheelers. This is inadequate to meet the demand from commuters, metro sources said.
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“The six metro trains expected to operate on the metro corridor from June 18 will have many joy riders during the initial few months. With expected increase in demand from regular commuters, members of the public and firms are expected to offer parking facility near stations for a fee,” the sources said.
They said that such initiatives would come up shortly at Aluva and Palarivattom. The KSEB is still opposed to temporarily sparing its 80-cent unused plot at Palarivattom for parking cars and two wheelers of metro commuters, despite the KMRL offering to level and tidy the ground.
A few entrepreneurs had offered smart technological solutions to augment parking space on the metro corridor. In this, unused lands will be identified where vehicle users can use the online option to book and make payment for using pay-and-park lots.
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Efforts are on to identify vacant plots in different parts of the city, including in the city hub where vacant unused land is available behind many shops.