Parking spots in Mumbai are hard to come by. If you have a car in Mumbai, you also want an apartment with a parking spot. Or at the very least, you want to live on a street with ample parking, which can be found on most side streets.
But when you're out and about, most shops in the city don't have customer parking. High end places usually have valet parking, and there are also 'Pay N Park' lots scattered throughout the city, but they are few and far between.
If you have a driver, they drop you off and then park illegally somewhere with other drivers who hang out until the parking police come and tell them to move. If you don't have a driver, and you can't find parking, you park illegally and keep an eye on your car in case the parking police show up.
The parking police, just so you understand, are not really cops. It's more like a battered old tow truck and six scraggly guys who drive around looking for cars and motorcycles to tow. They're fast because they get paid on how many vehicles they bring in, and rumor has it that once they lay a hand on your car, it's theirs. Period. That's the 'rule'.
They basically manhandle every vehicle they get their hands on. You'll see them flying down the street with one poor car dragging behind the tow truck and 10 motorcycles crammed onto the bed. It's quite the site to see them tossing motorcycles up there, too. You have to pay a fine, and a pound fee to get your vehicle back, and generously give you more dents and scratches than you can count.
Today I had my first encounter with them personally. I'd parked illegally in front of another illegally parked car in front of a bank ATM. I put my flashers on and got in line behind a woman also waiting. As she went into the ATM cubicle, the car behind me honked. I spun around to see the gentleman in the passenger seat frantically pointing towards my car. The parking police had pulled their tow truck up in front of my car!
I ran over yelling, 'No! No! No!' just as one of their guys came up from underneath my car. He'd latched on a chain and two other guys were about to hook it onto the bar. I threw myself onto the hood of my car, waving my arms, yelling, and insisting they were not going to take my car.
They started to explain that it was too late, they'd laid their hands on my car so it was theirs. The driver was shouting out the back window at me. Four guys were standing around me trying to convince me to move, and a crowd was gathering.
I crossed my arms and jumped up on my hood, shaking my head, No, and refusing to move. Most of the onlookers were a bit shocked, but there were also quite a few smiles. People everywhere can bond over getting your car towed. It took about 10 minutes, but they finally unlatched my car and left. A few of them were even smiling at me by then.
Guess they figured it was easier to just leave than tow the crazy white woman on top of her car.
But when you're out and about, most shops in the city don't have customer parking. High end places usually have valet parking, and there are also 'Pay N Park' lots scattered throughout the city, but they are few and far between.
If you have a driver, they drop you off and then park illegally somewhere with other drivers who hang out until the parking police come and tell them to move. If you don't have a driver, and you can't find parking, you park illegally and keep an eye on your car in case the parking police show up.
The parking police, just so you understand, are not really cops. It's more like a battered old tow truck and six scraggly guys who drive around looking for cars and motorcycles to tow. They're fast because they get paid on how many vehicles they bring in, and rumor has it that once they lay a hand on your car, it's theirs. Period. That's the 'rule'.
They basically manhandle every vehicle they get their hands on. You'll see them flying down the street with one poor car dragging behind the tow truck and 10 motorcycles crammed onto the bed. It's quite the site to see them tossing motorcycles up there, too. You have to pay a fine, and a pound fee to get your vehicle back, and generously give you more dents and scratches than you can count.
Today I had my first encounter with them personally. I'd parked illegally in front of another illegally parked car in front of a bank ATM. I put my flashers on and got in line behind a woman also waiting. As she went into the ATM cubicle, the car behind me honked. I spun around to see the gentleman in the passenger seat frantically pointing towards my car. The parking police had pulled their tow truck up in front of my car!
I ran over yelling, 'No! No! No!' just as one of their guys came up from underneath my car. He'd latched on a chain and two other guys were about to hook it onto the bar. I threw myself onto the hood of my car, waving my arms, yelling, and insisting they were not going to take my car.
They started to explain that it was too late, they'd laid their hands on my car so it was theirs. The driver was shouting out the back window at me. Four guys were standing around me trying to convince me to move, and a crowd was gathering.
I crossed my arms and jumped up on my hood, shaking my head, No, and refusing to move. Most of the onlookers were a bit shocked, but there were also quite a few smiles. People everywhere can bond over getting your car towed. It took about 10 minutes, but they finally unlatched my car and left. A few of them were even smiling at me by then.
Guess they figured it was easier to just leave than tow the crazy white woman on top of her car.
No comments:
Post a Comment