Nedap And Swarco Optimize Mobility In Linköping For Motorists With Disabilities

As the first city in Sweden, Linköping introduces an innovative solution to find available parking bays for motorists with disabilities. These designated parking bays, spread over 23 parking areas across the city of Linköping, are equipped with smart in-ground SENSIT sensors that process real-time occupancy information with the LinPark smartphone application. Swarco Sweden integrated Nedap’s SENSIT platform to improve the digital parking services of the LinPark app.

Dukaten Parking

With over 100.000 inhabitants, Linköping is home of world leading research institutes, the Swedish aviation industry and a large state University. Due to the ever increasing lack of space and simultaneous growth of motorists navigating through the city centers cause more traffic congestions, environmental pollution and unsafe roads. Dukaten Parking is responsible for the implementation of the Linköping’s municipality parking strategy. In January 2015 Linköping introduced a cash-less parking service based on the LinPark app which is deployed since then by over 10.000 users.

LinPark App

This digital solution makes it much easier and faster to park without queuing at parking ticket machines. The LinPark app also provides information about rates, opening hours and the availability of parking spaces in on-street and off-street facilities. Last but not least it also differentiates the type of parking areas between private cars, motor cycles, e-charging and spaces where disabled parking permits apply.

Parking for Motorists with Disabilities

Trying to find a vacant parking space is always a challenge. This problem even more affects mobility impaired and elderly motorist who strongly depend on the limited designated parking facilities. Available parking spaces for motorists with disabilities are, in many cases, important for a full social integration. Parking spaces reserved especially for this group of motorists are marked by the international wheelchair symbol. In average, designated parking spaces for people with disabilities are just about 6% of the total parking capacity.

Real-Time Parking Information

Swarco Sweden integrated Nedap’s SENSIT platform to improve the digital parking services of the LinPark app. The Nedap’s SENSIT system consists of in-ground parking sensors that detect the occupancy status of each individual parking bay in the street and the parking duration. The Nedap SENSIT system deploys the fastest wireless network in the parking industry and processes occupancy data in real-time, which is essential in on-street parking applications. In Linköping this information is measured by the Nedap’s SENSIT system on 23 locations across the city Centre.

Improved Mobility in Sweden

European municipalities are working on initiatives to improve mobility for elderly and mobility impaired motorists. Linköping is the first City in Sweden offering a mobility service to guide drivers to the wheelchair marked parking areas, monitor the availability and enforce legitimate usage. With the implemented solution, the city’s available disabled parking spaces become visible and easy to find, reducing search traffic and improving the mobility in the City of Linköping for all inhabitants.

Optimizing Future Mobility

With the implemented solution, the city’s available handicapped parking bays become more visible and easily findable for mobility impaired and elderly drivers. This reduces the search traffic, reduces CO2 emissions and improves the mobility for all motorists. The existing capacity of the municipality parking facilities will be used more efficiently. Additionally, by monitoring the real-time usage of designated parking bays in the city, the right use of the parking spaces can be effectively enforced.

With all the collected parking data, Linköping will be able to better anticipate on how much handicap spaces are used, providing the basis for future decisions on improved enforcement and the number of special on-street and off-street parking facilities.

Testimonial Jan Hofman and Thony Rysjö:

“This innovative parking service for motorists with disabilities is a benchmark for all Municipalities in Sweden. It allows optimal usage of the limited capacity and optionally can monitor remotely with an electronic parking licenses (EPL) if the designated parking bay is occupied by a permit holder. The Nedap patented EPL solution makes the total SENSIT platform unique in the parking industry”, according to Thony Rysjö (Sales and Product Manager SWARCO Sverige AB) and Jan Hofman (Sr Business Development Manager Nedap).

About Nedap

Nedap is the leading specialist in systems for vehicle identification, vehicle detection and vehicle access control. Readers, sensors and controllers optimize, monitor and control vehicle flows. With SENSIT, Nedap helps cities to become smart about their mobility. Nedap Identification Systems, part of Nedap N.V., is headquartered in the Netherlands and has offices in Europe, US, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Nedap designs and develops intelligent, sustainable technological solutions for themes that are relevant to the modern society. It is Nedap’s ambition to offer ‘Technology that Matters’.