It seems as though everyone is talking about smart cities, but how will we actually benefit? Parking is one everyday activity that technology can make more efficient and become a smart city solution of the future.
“A smart city is a city that has developed some technological infrastructure that enables it to collect, aggregate and analyze real-time data and has made a concerted effort to use that data to improve the lives of its residents,” says the USA-based National League of Cities.
Big data and the Internet of Things are changing our cities and making them more connected, with all strands of information becoming increasingly interrelated. This has changed the parking industry. Smart parking plays an important role in building an intelligent city, while revolutions in technology, innovation and sustainability have completely transformed what is expected of parking facilities. To keep up with changing times, parking facilities need to improve the quality of their services by using innovative solutions, being aware of the mobility challenges in cities and adopting responsible policies for environmental protection.
The quality of parking facilities will affect people’s decisions on where to park. A relaxing experience begins with convenience. Parking is no longer an afterthought – it is now clear that parking underpins the overall customer satisfaction in any type of facility, be it an airport, shopping mall, hospital, university, private residence or public institution.
Better parking, better life 
Society has much to gain from building smart parking facilities in our cities. Mainly, the well-being and quality of life of citizens will be improved in the wider environment because congestion and emissions caused by the search for parking will be reduced. Studies estimate smarter parking can lead to drivers spending 43% less time on the road, and to a 10% reduction in congestion.
Smarter parking facilities improve the customer service experience. They bring customers great satisfaction from the minute they arrive at their destination to the moment they exit. Providing a better service is the chance to grow a business: satisfied customers come back!
It is the operator of a smart parking facility who stands to enjoy the greatest benefits. Smarter parking can increase turnover (20-30%), maximize efficiency, increase profits, improve occupancy, promote greater rotation, lower costs, and optimize price and parking policy.
Turning a normal parking facility into a smart one increases overall security by helping to prevent vehicle thefts. It also helps to reduce fraud through false insurance claims.
The data gathered on lengths of stay, occupancy and overall use of the parking facility can be used by the management to further enhance the parking experience by offering promotions to strengthen customer loyalty.
The operator can set a dynamic pricing system with different price rates depending on the parking spot location or time of day. A differential pricing system boosts operators’ revenues. If the current entry rate is slower than expected, discount prices can be given. If the entry rate is higher than expected, premium rates can be set.
How to get smarter parking now
Quercus Technologies is a specialist in license plate recognition and computer-vision technologies. Its BirdWatch Smart Parking Suite is a web-based platform that integrates interconnected technologies and scalable capabilities. Scalable capabilities such as Car Access, Image Review, CCTV, Spot Control, Lighting, Mobility and more. It is designed to provide full control over and security of any parking facility. BirdWatch is designed to turn any parking facility into a smarter one.
With BirdWatch, you know the license plate, the time and vehicle condition at entry and the parking spot occupied. All the movements taking place around the parked vehicle are viewable, together with footage of the exact exit time from the facility.
Car Access records the entry and exit data for each vehicle and provides accurate license plate recognition, giving better control of all the events that occur on the entry/ exit lanes. It helps manage lost tickets and detect fraudulent ones, avoids claims regarding stolen vehicles and car thefts, and enables checking of movements, control of incidents and management of white and black lists.
CCTV links video recordings of vehicle profiles at entry/exit points with the license plate information.
Spot Control is a parking guidance system that provides information about the occupied and unoccupied parking spots. Video recording is triggered by motion detection around each parking space and license plate recognition of vehicles occupying each parking spot. Vehicle detection provides the exact location of vehicles in each parking spot and complete occupancy information.
Lighting controls the energy efficiency inside the car park, schedules automatic lighting and sets light intensity.
Mobility provides information about the traffic flow around the car park, queue occupancy rates and traffic statistics on the entry/exit lanes outside the facilities.
BirdWatch is a parking suite solution that brings together software- and hardware-based information on a single, user-friendly web-based platform.
The complete integration provided by the Suite gives you the big picture of vehicle movements within the facility and achieves the highest customer satisfaction.
Smart parking is a key way in which technology can change our society by making cities better places to live in and easier to get around. Equipping car parks with high–tech devices is the key to smarter parking, bringing greater security, control and comfort to all.
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About Quercus Technologies
Quercus Technologies manufactures and markets smart vehicle detection units based on advanced computer vision algorithms, which aim at improving mobility and security in parking facilities.
Quercus products are based on highly technological computer vision algorithms and include All-in-One license plate recognition units, overview cameras and digital video recorders. We market our LPR units exclusively to system integrators and one of our aims is to help them get the maximum benefit from our products and contribute to the success of their projects. Quercus provides customers with added-value services such as certificate professional training and on-site technical support to help them to get the most of our leading edge technology.
