Staff Correspondent: The Dhaka North City Corporation is bringing an app-based smart solution for car parking – the first of its kind in the country, one which many first-world cities introduced long ago – on different busy streets under its jurisdiction.

Initially, the corporation will launch the service in Gulshan under a pilot project within this month, officials familiar with the matter said.

On successful completion, the service – available through a mobile phone app named “DNCC Smart Parking” – will soon be made available in other areas, they said, adding that the initiative will make life easier by curbing hassles related to parking and helping ease traffic congestion.

Dhaka North Mayor Atiqul Islam said, “City dwellers are asking me for parking space but I cannot provide it. Now, the smart parking system is being introduced. Based on the feedback of people and stakeholders in the pilot project, we will extend the service to other areas.”

Nayem Raihan Khan, executive engineer of Dhaka North City Corporation, said, “Primarily, we are making arrangements for 202 car parking on nine roads of Gulshan. With feedback from the pilot project, the smart parking service will be extended to other areas in phases.”

He said that the Law and Order Coordination Committee of Gulshan has developed the app and will manage the technical side for the pilot project, while the traffic department of Dhaka Metropolitan Police will assist in other ways.

One can avail the service with simple registration on the app DNCC Smart Parking, which is designed to show available space for parking in real time.

The users can pre-book the parking when it is vacant. For the first two hours, the app will charge Tk50 Tk, including base fare, while it will Tk50 for the third hour and Tk100 for each next hour.

The initial nine spots of parking will be by Roads 62, 63, 64, 58 and 103 of Gulshan, the inner and outer circular roads of Gulshan-2 and the Kacha Bazar area.

The authorities have said they have already installed signboards indicating the parking spots in different places. The parking grounds have been painted yellow.

“This kind of management in parking is the first in our country, but it started long ago in other countries and they are reaping its benefits,” said Mohammad Fazle Reza Sumon, president of the Bangladesh Institute of Planners.

Expressing his appreciation of the city corporation for taking the initiative, the urban planner said, though, that it would have been more effective if the Dhaka North City Corporation had conducted a feasibility study before launching the pilot project.

“A sustainable plan is needed so that the smart parking initiative does not end up at the pilot stage,” he said.

Meanwhile, the smart parking initiative is expected to be a cash cow for the city corporation in future, according to its senior officials, as the money to be earned from the service will go to the city corporation directly.

Although the traffic department as well as the government earns money by fining vehicles for illegal parking, the city corporation currently does not get any portion of that, they added.