Ticketless Parking Management System: The Future has Begun – Motorists Can Now Park and Pay Without a Ticket

A dream has come true: the motorist approaches the entry to the car park and the barrier opens automatically, as if by magic. Pleasantly surprised, he swiftly drives into the car park without having to stop – faster than usual. And it's surprising how quickly it becomes a habit, too.

Parking operator PARK ONE and system house Scheidt & Bachmann have made convenient parking a reality at Dreicubenhaus in Düsseldorf: Germany's first purely licence-plate-based parking system went into operation on 16 May 2018.

Benefits to the parking operator

The licence plate is the sole parking medium. The customer approaches, the licence plate number is detected by a camera, the barrier opens automatically and the customer drives into a vacant space. Operators no longer have to provide control devices and barriers in the entry lanes, so they save on all the investment costs these facilities require. The cost of acquiring, refilling and disposing of paper tickets is also a thing of the past. Preventive service and service calls for control devices are no longer necessary – because traditional car park devices are no longer required in the first place. At the same time, the administrative work involved in creating and issuing long-term parking media will be drastically reduced: the licence plate is now a virtual ticket.

Benefits to the customer

By installing a car park management system without tickets, PARK ONE offers its customers not just convenient parking but also an innovative and hassle-free mode of payment: the entervo.kassenautomaten app – a perfect payment solution for the modern age. The licence plate number is entered in the relevant app screen and the parking time is paid for online using the mode of payment previously defined by the customer. The information "Parking time paid" is now linked to the licence plate in the car park management system and exit is enabled for the customer.

For traditionalists, an automatic pay station is still available that allows payment using coins, banknotes or credit/debit cards. Instead of inserting a parking ticket, however, customers now enter their licence plate number in the automatic pay station. This number is detected by means of a camera on entry and stored in the database of the car park management system along with charge-related information such as time of entry and entry lane. When customers wish to exit the car park, they can pay for their parking time in the usual way at the automatic pay station.

"entervo.ticketless parking is a future-oriented, all-inclusive package offering a high level of investment security based on an open system architecture for the car park management system. Car park entry and exit, payment at the automatic pay station or by app, validation via smartphone and building access – everything works based on the car's licence plate. If necessary, the system can be used without barriers altogether." says Samuel Spaltner, Head of DACH Operations at Scheidt & Bachmann.

Customers are delighted

And how have motorists responded to the new system? "So far customers have been delighted: they find it very convenient not to have to manoeuvre the car up to the control device to get a parking ticket. The system works trouble-free. And there's no need for any data privacy concerns: licence plate numbers are deleted after exit. Online validation gives our partners an attractive way of being able to validate parking using an app on their smartphone – which they have with them anyway," says Andreas Mahnert-Lueg, Managing Director of the operating company PARK ONE. "Seeing our customers' beaming faces at the exits when the barrier opens quickly and smoothly without them having to do anything is perfect evidence that we're meeting their needs by offering this solution – now we know we've arrived in the future."

The parking payment app entervo.kassenautomaten also saw its premiere: this was the first time it had been used live. The app was developed by evopark, Scheidt & Bachmann's subsidiary for digital products. The company has been part of the Scheidt & Bachmann Group since January 2017.

About Scheidt & Bachmann

The family-owned company with its headquarters in Moenchengladbach, Germany was founded in 1872 and is now managed in its fifth generation. In the four divisions Fare Collection systems, Signalling Systems, Petrol Station Systems and Parking and Leisure Centre Systems, Scheidt & Bachmann is setting worldwide standards. The Parking Systems division dominates the international car park market by nearly 22,000 installations; it is the system provider for more than 75 airports worldwide. Scheidt & Bachmann provides with its brand “entervo” integrated, modular general solutions consisting of up-to-date JAVA software and innovative equipment.