Users of most phones cannot use the app and have to depend on parking attendants.
Namma Bengaluru Smart Parking (NBSP) app is not supported in Android mobile phones. The smart parking meter machines are also not working on Brigade Road for the past two years. The parking attendants issue tickets for parking. During peak hours delay in issuing tickets causes traffic congestion.
Nagesh, head of the IT department in Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) admitted that NBSP app is not working. He also said that BBMP has assigned parking attendants as the smart parking app is not working.
A motorist, who parked his car on Brigade Road said, “When the road gets crowded it is very difficult to find the parking attendants.” He said that he needs to wait for a long time to pay and park the car.
Though the NBSP app is supported in iOS, the users cannot make any payments for parking. Gayathri, who once used this parking app last in 2021said,“When I tried to pay for parking my car, the app couldn’t access my account.”
A few iOS user’s review about the app was also not good. The ratings and reviews by the iOS users show that they face difficulties like not being able to access their accounts; some did not receive the One Time Password (OTP) for registering the app.
Harsh, an app developer said that the NBSP is not registered in play store and that is the reason the Android users are unable to install the app. “All the apps have to pay a platform fee which is expensive to register their app,” he said. He also said that the app might not work when it being maintained.
M N Sreehari , Professor and traffic expert said, “Smart Parking is required most in the city and the app needs to be maintained periodically.” He also said that with the available modern technologies, the smart parking app has to be upgraded. “The improper maintenance leads to traffic congestion in Bangalore,” said the expert.
Vikram Bhat, Urban Planner in Bangalore said that showing parking availability in congested areas in Google maps will help the public in parking their vehicles without any difficulties. He also said that the government can take some initiatives in alerting users about congested areas.
