The other day I parked my mobike at the Jayanagar Shopping Complex stand and struck a conversation with the contractor who had leased out the space for parking of scooters and motorcycles from the BBMP (Bangalore Corporation). He told me that the parking rates had been hiked from Rs.2 to Rs. 3 for a period of three hours. Before I paid up the sum demanded I decided to make some discreet enquiries from him. As we conversed on he unwittingly came to give me some bits of information that were harmful for him to reveal.
It appears the BBMP periodically checks up to compile statistics, how many people on an average park their vehicles at these places, on the hand-held electronic ticket-issuing contraption provided to them. Based on these statistics they assign the rates of collection per vehicle and thence, in turn, the leasing rates for awarding the contracts to these contractors. It was only when I heard this bit of news that I realised how important it was for every person to collect the parking ticket from the hand-held ticket issuing machine, because if you fail to do it, the contractors claim that the number of clients using these parking areas is much lesser and consequently ask the rates for parking charges to be enhanced. Further they use these statistics to bargain for a lower minimum rate of lease.
When I realised this and hence chose to demand for a printed receipt from the device, he told me that in such a case I have to pay up Rs.4/- So what these contractors are doing is that they are letting off one rupee to collect an unaccounted amount of three rupees that serves him not only to avoid tax, but also gets him a greater factual support to bargain for higher parking rates and a lower leasing rate.
However, it is true that if everyone chose to demand for tickets people would have to wait considerably longer and no one seems to have a patience for this. But by cutting corners we are only harming ourselves and then we protest vehemently when the country is being ripped-off by huge scams and wonder why India is getting to be like this! All that is needed is more awareness, more patience and shunning of laziness.
