In a few weeks’ time, commuters who park their vehicles at Chennai Metro stations can swipe their travel cards to make payment.
According to officials of Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), trials have been carried out and the exercise has been deemed to be successful.
“There are some minor issues to be sorted out. Commuters can start using the smart cards in parking lots very soon. At present, commuters can either buy a monthly pass or tokens. Instead of tokens, they can now swipe the cards. It will save them time,” an official said.
One of the biggest benefits of this will be that the parking space around Metro stations will be used only by those travelling by the rail network. The demand for parking space had gone up manifold at stations, with many who weren’t using the Metro parking their vehicles, sources said.
On an average, 8,000 vehicles, including two-wheelers, are parked at stations across the 45-km network every day.
“At stations like Washermanpet and Mannady, we found that the parking lots were used by everyone. The regular commuters with monthly passes were agitated as they did not get space to park. Once the swipe system comes into effect, only those with the travel cards can enter and use the parking space,” another official said. There have been a few recent incidents where parking staff have been assaulted by commuters, sources said, adding that such issues would also come down when the new plan became operational.
