[TusharK]

According to a media report, malls in the state of Gujarat have been directed to not charge parking fees from patrons. A division bench of the Gujarat high court ruled that malls, commercial complexes and multiplexes can’t levy parking charges on visitors.



The move comes after an earlier order that said malls should offer free parking for the first hour and charge nominal rates otherwise. It is reported that under the General Development Control Regulations (GDCR),private shopping centers aren’t permitted to charge a parking fee from visitors. The state government argued that GDCR rules mandate parking lot sizes based on size and activities of the commercial complex.

The local police and civic authorities also issued a notice to Alpha One mall in Vastrapur area of Ahmedabad to not collect parking fees. The mall authorities had earlier challenged these notices before the High Court.

Source: TOI

Link to Team-BHP News

[nishsingh]

There have been no parking charges in malls in Hyderabad for the past 1.5 years or so too.

You do not have to pay as long as you produce a reciept showing that you purchased something from the mall (movie tickets are valid too). Obviously the invoice amount has to be greater than the parking charges.

[adhd92]

Just wondering an important thing. Is there a time limit to this?
Because Wow this can be misused!

[oxyzen]

Although it sounds like a good move, there could be several consequences.
For one, how do you ensure that the users of the Malls are the ones using the facility.
Secondly, in the long run, Malls might not create a parking lots as it fetches no monetary gains. They might even encourage some third party to create a paid parking lot right next to it.

In our country we have a real shortage of proper parking spaces. Taking incentive away from someone who provides those might not be the best thing to do.

[aniyo]

I find it really funny that courts and public have time to discuss parking charges in Mall, but there is no court ruling on bad roads, potholed toll roads, toll charges, government commitment for public transport (read, Karnataka govt banning Ola share and uberpool etc)

I don't understand who this benefits. People taking their car don't really mind paying 50 odd bucks. It is the unauthorized parking lots that need to be dealt with. We as a country have a lot of time for trivial things but when it comes to real issue public seems to be very busy.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Secondly, in the long run, Malls might not create a parking lots as it fetches no monetary gains. They might even encourage some third party to create a paid parking lot right next to it.

In our country we have a real shortage of proper parking spaces. Taking incentive away from someone who provides those might not be the best thing to do.

Without adequate provisions for parking spaces (based on the size of the mall), the necessary clearances are not given for construction of the mall. So even if free, parking spaces have to be built.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by aniyo

I don't understand who this benefits. People taking their car don't really mind paying 50 odd bucks. It is the unauthorized parking lots that need to be dealt with. We as a country have a lot of time for trivial things but when it comes to real issue public seems to be very busy.

Usually people fil PILs, there might not be anyone who might have filed a PIL for the cases you mentioned above.

There are a lot of people who are extremely pennywise.

When the mall of Travancore opened in Trivandrum, people chose to park in the parking lot of the nearby super speciality hospital which has a 24 hours accident and trauma care.

A lot of buildings are built without any parking space, this move will surely have a negative repercussion where the malls will now only build the required number of parking slots mandated by the building rules which dates back to the 90s.

Pramod

[iamitp]

I believe that Delhi HC had also passed a similar judgment a few years ago, but no one seems to be following it. A good mechanism could be free parking on the production of any sale receipt/ticket etc. paid for at the mall to ensure that it is for mall consumers only.

On a related note, I have entirely switched my movie watching to DLF Place in Saket (New Delhi) which offers moviegoers free valet parking - perfect for checking out Select Citywalk next door, where parking charges runs into Rs. 100+ for a few hours over the weekends

[sgiitk]

Interesting. Let us see how it goes. Many Malls/Cineplexes rely on parking for a large fraction of their income. So I am a bit sceptical.

[Chetan_Rao]

I use paid parking wherever available instead of parking on the street, and malls in my destination's vicinity are obvious choices, even if I sometimes end up walking or taking public transport for the last mile.

In cities that are already struggling with chronic traffic woes, lack of safe street parking and rare standalone multi-level car parks in congested areas, this makes little sense.

[pramodkumar]

Originally Posted by iamitp

I believe that Delhi HC had also passed a similar judgment a few years ago, but no one seems to be following it. A good mechanism could be free parking on the production of any sale receipt/ticket etc. paid for at the mall to ensure that it is for mall consumers only.

There are couple of establishments which charge you 100 Rs for parking and the coupon is redeemable at the establishment for shopping.

Pramod

[iamitp]

Originally Posted by pramodkumar

There are couple of establishments which charge you 100 Rs for parking and the coupon is redeemable at the establishment for shopping.

Pramod

Any such places in Delhi NCR?

[landcruiser123]

I think it is not fair to allow free parking. Reason: There is no free parking. To allow free parking, the price of your McDonalds burger and movie tickets will go up. It is not fair to all users of the mall as many of them come by taxis or two-wheelers which don't use space or lesser space than cars. Also, don't get me started on how free parking space can be misused.

They should allow claiming the parking amount towards a bill over a certain theshold.

Originally Posted by oxyzen

Secondly, in the long run, Malls might not create a parking lots as it fetches no monetary gains.

Malls will have to create parking lots as it is the regulation. They will have a sqft: no. of parking lot ratio. But yes, they can create parking lots to satisfy the bare minimum standard and direct other traffic to a third party parking lot.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by iamitp

Any such places in Delhi NCR?

Don't know about redeemable coupon but Metro Cash and Carry (East Delhi) has free parking for its customers.

[GTO]

Quite a foolish move IMO. Real estate costs big bucks and just like any property owner, malls have the right to charge for their use. Let's also not forget that Indians are very price sensitive. The cost of parking will usually be what most mall customers are willing to pay. No mall wants to inconvenience its customers or end up with empty parking lots.

This might also affect genuine mall customers who don't get parking because everyone is just dumping their cars there.