Visitors to city’s airport prefer driving around to paying Rs60 as parking charge.
People of Ahmedabad appear to have found a novel way of saving Rs60, charged for parking at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. For many, the amount is exorbitant and they instead prefer roaming around the area to keeping their vehicles in the parking lot.
In Rs60, one can get more than a litre of petrol or diesel, which can run for more than 10 km. So, it does not hurt the car owners to drive 3-4 km around the airport in the time they would have spent waiting in the parking lot.
“This sounds bizarre but it actually makes sense. There is no point in paying Rs60 just for parking your vehicle outside the airport for a few minutes. Ideally, there should be no charges for parking the vehicle for 10 minutes or less. If this is not possible, at least the initial charges should be less than what is charged now,” said Lalit Gandhi, managing director of Charter Logistics, a city-based company which also supplies buses for BRTS.
According to drivers of prepaid taxis, every day dozens of car drivers could be seen burning fuel for about 10 minutes driving around the circle at the airport.
A taxi driver said heated arguments between parking contractors and visitors parking their vehicles in front of the terminal had become a routine thing. Many visitors park their cars in front of the Taj hotel at the airport circle and reach the pick up point only when the flight arrives. In the meantime, they keep roaming around in the area.
“Why should I pay Rs60 for just five minutes? Actually, I suggest that the authorities concerned should change the parking rates. The charges should be according to the time you keep your car in the parking lot. I will not mind if they charge Rs15 or Rs20 for initial 15 minutes, but Rs60 is just not acceptable,” said Dharmesh Thakkar, another visitor the DNA spoke to.
Gandhi argues that even at international airports like Dubai one can park car for 10 minutes in front of the pick up point without any charges.
The airport authorities, however, have a different view. A senior officer said, “We have no intention to earn profit from the passengers by charging huge amount for parking. But the idea is to restrict too many visitors to the airport. Lower charges will increase traffic movement, which will cause chaos.”
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