Live and forecast space counts for metro station parking lots
TL;DR Parkahead counts vehicles in and out of metro station lots and forecasts when each lot will fill. Riders see it in the metro app before they leave home, and the metro or its lot contractor sees daily use by station. The metro corporation pays, through its parking tenders.
Metro parking in Indian cities is small and uneven. On Bengaluru's Yellow Line, most stations average around 150 two-wheeler spaces, and a metro official said parking was not a priority in planning[1]. At JP Nagar, Jayanagar and Indiranagar the lots are too small for the riders they serve, so commuters park in residential lanes, and shoppers from a nearby mall fill the Konanakunte lot[2].
A full lot costs the metro a rider. If you find no space then you either park illegally or drive the whole way, and nobody tells you before you set out.
Parkahead keeps the seed's goal of predicting free spaces, narrowed to metro lots, where the payer is clear and the counting is simple.
Each lot gets a counter at its entry and exit - a camera or loop sensor that tallies vehicles by type, linked to boom barriers where they exist. The system knows each lot's capacity and builds a daily curve from weeks of counts, adjusted for weekdays, rain, holidays and events nearby. Riders see three things in the metro app or on a web page, namely spaces free now, the time the lot usually fills, and the nearest station with room. The metro gets a dashboard showing use, overflow and revenue by station, which helps it decide where to add space or change fees. No number plates need to be stored for the forecast.
The rider uses it free. The buyer is the metro corporation, either directly or by writing it into the lot operator's contract. Fees show what is at stake - Delhi Metro's new smart parking charges cars ₹30 for six hours and two-wheelers ₹15[3]. Riders in Bengaluru already avoid a ₹30 daily fee by parking on the street[2], so better use of paid lots also helps revenue.
Metros are already buying parking technology. In June 2026 Delhi Metro started a smart parking project of about ₹1.26 crore at two stations, with boom barriers and digital payment, to cut waiting time[3]. New lines keep opening, such as Bengaluru's Yellow Line in August 2025[1]. Each new lot is a chance to add counting from day one.
There is no public figure for metro parking technology spend. The firmest signal is Delhi Metro's ₹1.26 crore for two stations[3]. In 2019, about 12,000 two-wheelers and 2,000 cars were parked daily across 19 Bengaluru stations[4]. Count lots across India's operating metros to size the market before pitching.
Indian smart-parking start-ups sell systems with real-time space availability and guidance for businesses[5]. Others offer parking digitisation, access gates and AI tools for operators[6]. They focus on payment and access at malls and offices. Washington's Metro, with 42 park-and-ride stations, shows the issue is not unique to India[7]. The gap is a forecast tied to the metro journey.
| Difficulty | Moderate (40/100) |
| Starting capital | ₹50–90 L |
| Time to launch | 6–9 months |
Counting is easy. Selling is slow, because metro corporations buy through tenders and may fold this into a larger parking contract. Two-wheeler lots without marked bays make capacity fuzzy, so forecasts need careful calibration against hand counts for the first few weeks.
Counting and forecasting cars needs no sector licence. The paperwork is about the buyer and the land.
Building this outside India? The categories above usually have a local equivalent, so check with your own regulator.
Don't trust the forecast blindly in unmarked two-wheeler lots, where "full" is fuzzy. Calibrate against hand counts before riders rely on it.
Want to work out the AI layer for Parkahead? Talk to Yash →
Here's what can go south -
I think it's reasonable if you've sold to public-sector transport bodies and can wait out a tender. If you need revenue in three months then it's not for you. Prove first that riders change behaviour - run a free pilot at three stations and show fewer bikes on surrounding streets.
Plan for roughly ₹50–90 L, mostly counters, software and the long wait through metro tenders.
No sector licence. You need written permission from the metro corporation, tender registration and DPDP compliance if any plate data is stored.
Yes, park-and-ride lots fill up in many cities, Washington's Metro among them. Check how your local transit agency buys and your privacy law on plates.
The free Parkahead validation kit has the line-by-line capital breakdown, the effort scoring, the tender and data-protection checklist, a 14-day validation sprint with pass/fail targets, a 90-day launch plan, 10 interview questions for metro officials and riders, and 5 assumptions to test. Download the kit →
Thinking about building Parkahead or something close to it? The make-or-break work is getting a metro corporation to run a pilot before a formal tender, and that's the kind of thing I help founders plan. If you need a hand, you know where to find me. Talk to Yash →
For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.