The Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment has announced they want to make all parking data available to the public.
Real-time information such as availability, prices and location will help people find a suitable parking space easier and faster. When people are properly directed to available parking spaces, the gas emission will reduce and traffic congestion will decrease.
This idea is part of the plan ‘Beter Benutten’ by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment. This plan focuses on a more efficient use of existing roads, rails- and water connections.
Parking data should be available for service providers, according to Minister Schultz van Haegen. He says that parking usually means driving around for a long time before you find a space. This is often frustrating for the driver, but more important: it’s bad for the environment.
If real time data about parking is available to service providers they can use this information in new mobile apps. Then drivers can simply open the app with their smartphone to see where the nearest available parking space is and don't have to drive around looking for one.
Providing real time parking information to drivers will lead to less carbon emission and less traffic jams. This is also interesting for city centers and other locations with high traffic density. By guiding the traffic efficiently, the area will be more appealing to visitors.
This year all public and private car park operators in the cities Utrecht, Rotterdam and Amsterdam start with collecting, standardizing and publishing parking data. Later on other cities will follow their example. The Ministry expects that in 2015 the biggest part of the Netherlands will be able to provide real time parking data to the public.
