Patna’s multi-modal hub near the GPO roundabout will introduce an automated paid parking system from October as Patna Smart City Limited moves to formalise operations at the transport facility and its adjoining 440-metre subway.
Motorists using the hub will have to pay for parking once the new system is implemented. Patna Smart City Limited has not yet fixed the tariff. Officials are examining parking rates at major facilities, including Patna Junction, Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport and other prominent locations before finalising the charges.
The system will use sensors and automatic number plate recognition cameras to reduce manual intervention at the entry point. When a vehicle approaches the boom barrier, sensors will detect it and the ANPR camera will scan its registration number. A parking ticket will then be generated automatically before the barrier opens.
Monthly parking passes are also planned for regular users. According to officials, the arrangement is intended to make parking more convenient for daily commuters while bringing greater order to vehicle movement around the hub. The facility is expected to shift vehicles away from roadside parking and improve traffic movement near one of Patna’s key transport nodes.
The multi-level parking facility can accommodate up to 225 cars at a time. The ground floor has space for six cars and 32 buses, while the first floor can hold 67 cars. The second and third floors have capacity for 76 cars each. Two-wheelers will use a separate automated arrangement.
A rotary technology-based parking facility planned within the complex will accommodate up to 96 motorcycles. Patna Smart City Limited is also planning similar rotary parking facilities at three other locations in the city, although the report does not specify their locations or implementation timelines.
The parking system will be part of a larger operations and maintenance arrangement for the multi-modal hub. The selection of a private operator has reached the next stage, with four agencies technically qualifying at a tender committee meeting held on September 19. The agencies were invited to submit objections, after which their financial bids will be opened and the operator selected.
The appointed agency will be responsible for managing the parking facility as well as operating and maintaining the hub and its 440-metre subway. This makes the pending operator selection central to the October rollout, alongside the finalisation of the parking tariff.
The hub has also been planned as a commercial facility. It includes a 4,763-square-foot restaurant, five shops inside the hub and six shops along the subway. Space for an ATM and electric vehicle charging facilities is also being developed.
Patna Smart City Limited is working towards introducing the automated parking system in October. The final parking rates, the selected private operator and the completed handover process will determine how the facility operates once the new arrangement begins.
