Use Case: IoT for Smart Parking
Habiba Marei • 21 March 2022
What’s better than parking spaces that are perfectly positioned near the buildings they serve? How about parking spaces where you can feed the metre remotely? Street navigation technology has proven to be very helpful when we need to find our way. But one thing these systems do not address is where we park our vehicles when we reach our destinations. This is a shortcoming in our world of convenient technology that highlights a huge gap in the current parking status quo.
If you have been to a large city in the past few years, you probably noticed the rising demand for parking. The parking industry is huge. In fact, it was estimated to be worth $24-25 billion dollars in 2012, according to ITS America’s Market Analysis. Parking is often associated with many issues for both citizens and city operators. And that’s why we need smart parking solutions to help resolve uncertainties and inefficiencies with the current parking status quo. This has made smart parking technology necessary. So, it’s only natural that when people are faced with a difficult problem, they look to technology to help solve it.
The demand for smart parking solutions is growing as cities and municipalities look for ways to address traffic congestion, pollution, and land use issues. When city officials and urban planners consider solutions for crowded parking lots and traffic congestion, they increasingly look at IoT-based smart parking solutions. Many cities around the world already have smart parking systems in place or are in the process of implementing such technology. Here's how smart parking solutions help alleviate consumer pain points for both drivers and city officials alike.
What is a Smart Parking Solution?
A smart parking solution is an automated system of IoT transmitters, sensors, and security cameras that provide parking data used for parking management and analysis. It enables the tracking and efficient use of available parking spaces. A smart parking system also optimises the use of parking spaces, improves efficiency in the operation of parking lots, and eases traffic congestion. It is a totally integrated, real-time, and flexible solution to your city's mobility issues. Moreover, smart parking is an easy and efficient way to promote sustainability.
The Role IoT Plays in Smart Parking
IoT plays a vital role in smart parking solutions and can measure and improve three critical aspects of any parking experience: maximising parking space, maximising parking revenue, and improving the user experience. Smart parking systems work through the installation of parking occupancy sensors. IoT data is then transmitted over a wireless connection to a cloud server, which collects all the data from the parking lot and produces a map of available spaces. The map is made available to anyone parking their car, allowing them to find a parking space easily.
5 Benefits of Smart Parking Solutions
A smart parking system offers a win-win solution for both citizens and city operators. It is primarily influenced by three key parameters: price, parking location, and proximity to destination. Here are five benefits smart parking provides:
1. Enhanced User Experience
Smart parking solutions provide convenience and enhanced user experiences for drivers, saving them both time and money. People get to experience the comfort of locating a parking spot, the joy of finding adequate space to park, and the relief of knowing the parking fee ahead of time without worrying if there are additional charges. They can find available spaces via mobile apps or pay for parking through a mobile app or website instead of waiting in line to pay for their parking ticket.
2. Reduced Traffic
The future of smart parking systems promises a reduction in traffic congestion. With the smart parking technology, car drivers will find a parking space via mobile apps, smart signs, and smart metres. Given that traffic congestion is already a significant issue in urban centres, smart parking solutions are ideal to help ease the problem and reduce congestion since vehicles do not have to circle around for a spot.
3. Reduced Pollution and Energy Consumption
Smart parking reduces the number of unnecessary trips within parking lots. The technology can guide vehicles safely to an open space in a matter of seconds which reduces fuel consumption and carbon emissions in large metropolitan areas. Once smart parking is implemented on a global scale, it will have a major impact on the environment.
4. Real-Time Data and Trend Insight
Smart parking solutions provide cities with the data to create better parking policies. City operators can easily see which spaces are occupied and free, what time of the day is busiest, and whether there is a correlation between the price of a space and its occupancy rate. With this data, cities can adjust prices based on demand or develop other policies to help solve their parking problems.
5. Decreased Operational Costs
Smart parking is a flexible parking solution that allows operators to control expenses. It enables them to monitor and control the solution through a centralised city operations centre, which can help prevent vandalism and enhance security measures. Smart parking also automates processes which not only translates into higher customer satisfaction, but also reduces manual labour costs.
Conclusion
Smart Parking solutions can help solve many problems and make the overall parking experience pleasant. Quite simply, it will save money and time, extend the lifespans of valuable assets, and produce real operational savings for companies and cities. Ultimately, the benefits of IoT for Smart Parking can be leveraged to improve how cities are managed and how companies are run.
The benefits of smart parking are especially visible at peak times when driver impatience usually results in driving around and not finding a suitable spot. Overall, improvements in driving experience contribute to a better customer experience, which contributes to higher revenues for smart cities and municipalities.
