Budapest Parking Model

A high-level team consisting of members from the transport and urban development departments of Tamil Nadu that recently visited Budapest, Hungary to study the parking system there. Members of the team visited various parts of Budapest and saw path breaking changes made in its transport system. They participated in the summit ‘Sustainable Transportation’, organised by the Institute of Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP), New York. The team has recommended setting up of a parking management authority to deal with the issue that drives motorists up the wall every day. The team has proposed that the authority, comprising officials from Chennai Corporation, Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and the traffic police, work out a pricing mechanism for parking spots based on the land value of its location and outsource the various components that the system will require. If the proposal is implemented, the city will, for the first time, have an independent body in charge of parking for its 36.82 lakh vehicles.