Bengaluru Traffic Police book record 11 lakh parking violations, problem persists

The Bengaluru Traffic Police registered 10.99 lakh wrong parking violations in just the first eight months of this year, approaching the previous year's full-year record of 11.16 lakh cases, yet officers concede the intensified crackdown has barely dented the city's parking chaos.

Despite the unprecedented enforcement drive, with towing operations, paid parking zones, and dedicated patrol beats rolled out to tackle the problem, haphazard parking continues to choke Bengaluru's streets, contributing directly to micro-level congestion that ripples outward to clog arterial roads.

Low penalties and government concessions undermine enforcement

A senior traffic police officer pointed to the modest ₹500 penalty for haphazard parking in Bengaluru, significantly lower than fines levied in other cities, as a key reason enforcement fails to change behaviour on the ground. The officer argued the fine should exceed ₹1,000 for first-time offenders, with escalating slabs for repeat violations.

Equally damaging are recurring concession windows announced by the government, which allow violators to pay reduced penalties. "There are many instances where motorists who are caught violating norms, leave by saying they will pay the fines when the traffic police roll out the concession window," the officer said.

This combination of low fines and periodic amnesties has blunted the impact of tighter enforcement, the officer explained, allowing haphazard parking to thrive even as case numbers soar.

Historic spike in footpath parking violations

Alongside the surge in general wrong parking cases, the Bengaluru Traffic Police booked a record 1.16 lakh footpath parking violations by the end of August this year. No year in the previous five has seen more than 90,000 footpath parking cases registered in the first eight months.

Officers noted that rising vehicle registrations in a growing city like Bengaluru naturally drive up the absolute number of violations year after year.

A decade-high enforcement trend

Data accessed by The Hindu confirms this year's 10.99 lakh wrong parking cases represent the highest total for the corresponding eight-month period in at least the past decade. The figures show the Bengaluru Traffic Police booked 11.16 lakh wrong parking cases across the whole of 2025, 9.73 lakh in 2024, 10 lakh each in 2023 and 2022, and 7.26 lakh in 2021.

Minister flags need for higher penalties

Greater Bengaluru Development Minister Krishna Byre Gowda recently flagged the inadequate fine structure, writing to the Transport Minister to urge stiffer penalties for driving on footpaths. Haphazard parking falls into the same category of low-penalty offences, the officer noted.

Source: The Hindu