Today, unorganized haphazard parking on the streets and invasion of pedestrian footpaths by parked cars have become a common sight in Chennai. Most on-street parking is free and even when charged, parking rules and fees are administered on an ad-hoc basis, leading to a lack of clarity for users, inconsistent enforcement and significant revenue leakage. The city experiences localised shortages despite the overall availability of parking space. It has also been observed worldwide that parking demand quickly outstrips supply in the absence of effective management strategies. The provision of free or cheap parking also encourages greater use of personal motor vehicles.

To make parking more sustainable, the selected service provider must focus on efficient utilization of existing parking areas. Thus, effective parking management is an essential tool to facilitate the efficient use of road space and reduce traffic congestion, allowing for easy passage for all road users: pedestrians, cyclists, public transport and also motorists. Appropriate parking fees can ensure that personal motor vehicle users compensate the city for the use of prime curbside real estate on which they park.

 The Greater Chennai Corporation has proposed to implement the Parking Management System project
on cashless transaction and the PMS's Information Technology (IT) system is expected to
integrate the overall parking facilities.