Parking space management without barriers

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Barriers are a common means of managing and managing parking spaces. They have proven effective over the past decades and most people are familiar with the procedure: draw a ticket, drive into the parking area, park, pay for a ticket at the pay machine after a stay and push it into the terminal at the exit. The barrier then opens and the exit is free. So does “Never change a running system” apply or is it time for new solutions? Barrier systems are expensive to buy and operate; they slow down traffic flow at entry and exit, creating backlogs. There are more efficient solutions, particularly for highly frequented parking areas or those with specific peak hours. Nevertheless, in a few cases, barriers still have a right to exist in the future, for example if non-authorised persons should avoid driving into a parking area under all circumstances.

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What are the features of restricted parking areas?

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Parking space management in publicly accessible parking areas using barrier systems has the advantage that there are virtually no non-payers. Before the barrier opens at the exit, a paid ticket must be inserted. Personnel control, such as in unrestricted parking spaces, for which tickets must be purchased from vending machines upon arrival and placed in the vehicle, is not necessary. This eliminates costs for personnel who check parking tickets and does not require manual tracking of non-payers either. If you want to bounce the parking fee in a restricted parking lot, you have to be audacious and try to drive out directly behind another vehicle before the barrier can close. For safety reasons, barrier systems may be equipped with a light barrier to protect the area under the turnpike in order to prevent injuries. Parking money bouncers can take advantage of this security feature.

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However, a barrier system poses challenges for honest parking people. First, they have to get close enough to the ticket terminal at the entrance to be able to draw a parking ticket. They may even have to press a button first. For people with restricted mobility, this can be a significant problem; for everyone else, it is at least cumbersome. After that, it is important not to lose the ticket under any circumstances, because then there is usually a high daily flat rate. The next difficulty then lurks at the exit: How around does the parking ticket have to be pushed into the slot? If the barrier is open, it is time to drive out quickly before it possibly closes again!

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What is unpleasant for parking users in turn poses its own challenges for parking lot operators, for which they must find and provide solutions: Who can parking people contact if they have lost their parking ticket? If the exit barrier is broken, who will open it at short notice so that visitors can leave the parking area again? If someone crosses the barrier or the terminal for the tickets, who repairs it and who pays for it? Who pays for the lost income? Parking lot operators must ask themselves all of these questions before implementing a parking management system based on a barrier system.

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Are barrier systems still up to date today?

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Against this background, the question is whether barrier systems in parking space management are still up to date today. In addition to ease of use, costs, personnel costs and sustainability play a role.

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As already described above, barriers place considerable demands on parking users. Barrier systems create further obstacles, particularly in parking areas that are highly frequented or where many visitors want to drive in or leave at the same time during peak hours. The barriers must rise in front of each vehicle and lower again behind it. Depending on the system, this alone often takes more than ten seconds. In addition, there is the time required to pull or push in tickets. As a result, backlogs quickly form. This is often seen on Saturdays in shopping centers and on hot summer vacation days at beach parking lots. At parking garages in stadiums or theaters with a specific start of the game, for which all spectators arrive punctually and simultaneously, backlogs play an even greater role and may even influence the flow of traffic around the venues.

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Barrier systems also pose a challenge from a financial point of view. In addition to the barriers themselves, ticket terminals are required at entry and exit, as well as pay machines. A parking space management system based on a barrier system also generates significant operational costs: In addition to electricity for the barrier, terminals and pay machines, maintenance and repair costs must also be included. This is compounded by the running costs for magnetic stripe tickets, which must be reissued and disposed of each parking process. In addition, a service hotline available 24 hours a day and an on-call service may have to be available.

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In addition, barriers can be hit by carelessness or even intentionally and then no longer work. This not only results in material and repair costs, but operators also miss out on revenue. Because if the barrier is missing or is open, no one pulls a ticket and payment is missed.

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When it comes to sustainability, barrier systems also have a negative impact, as their mechanical components are susceptible to wear. In addition to barriers, which must open and close for every parked vehicle, this also includes pay machines and ticket terminals at entry and exit. In addition, every parking ticket generates trash.

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What limitless alternatives are there?

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Operators of parking areas can opt for a classic alternative to a barrier system and set up parking pillars where parking people buy a ticket for a specific period of time upon arrival. In order to ensure that parking people also buy parking tickets, personnel are required to regularly check the parked vehicles and, if necessary, to track parking violations. Alternatively, day parking tickets can be sold by staff at the access roads to the car park.

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Both options offer parking users little flexibility: With the first option, they have to estimate how long they want to park on arrival. With the second, short-time parkers must also buy a day ticket.

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A third option is digital, barrier-free Parking space management solutions Like the Peter Park system, which automatically calculate parking time using data protection-compliant license plate recognition at entry and exit.

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How does smart parking space management work?

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Peter Park's smart Internet of Things solution requires hardly any hardware on parking areas and causes only low acquisition and maintenance costs. In addition, the barrier-free system saves resources: The absence of barriers reduces components susceptible to wear; instead, the solution is based on license plate recognition, which scans incoming and outgoing vehicles. From this, the system calculates the exact parking time. The license plate is read in accordance with the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Before leaving the parking lot or parking garage with the vehicle, parkers pay the parking fee accrued by entering their license plate number in partner apps, at parking vending machines or online up to 24 hours later. There are no paper tickets, which saves costs and avoids waste. By removing barriers, there is no need to stop at entry and exit, which prevents backlogs.

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Parking operators receive real-time data on the use of their spaces without having to install additional sensors. You can view and analyze the information via an easy-to-use dashboard. Data on current occupancy can also be transferred to websites and parking guidance systems and displayed on displays in or on the parking area.

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When it comes to pricing, the system opens up new options through dynamic pricing models: Parking space operators can flexibly increase or lower the parking rates of individual spaces, for example depending on occupancy. This function is also suitable if parking people who reserve a parking space in advance are to be offered a cheaper rate. Among other things, this option is interesting for airports where travelers park for several days.

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Peter Park also relieves his partners with comprehensive service from a single source. If parking violations occur, the owner data can be determined via a query with the Federal Motor Transport Authority and the non-payers will receive a contractual penalty.

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Digital parking at the Olympic Jump in Innsbruck

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The Peter Park system has already proven itself in daily use on many parking areas, including in Innsbruck: In autumn 2023, Bergisel Betriebsgesellschaft introduced Peter Park's barrier-free parking management system at the Olympic Jump Jump. The digital solution there offers a modern, user-friendly parking experience and reduces expenses and costs for Bergisel Betriebsgesellschaft. Low purchase, maintenance and repair costs as well as automated processes increase efficiency and profitability.

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Bernhard Niggler, managing director of Bergisel Betriebsgesellschaft, mentions another key reason for the change: “Many of our guests are tourists who plan to visit Bergisel as part of their vacation. In the event of a barrier system failure, they previously had to wait for the security service to open the barrier so that they could continue their journey and drive to the nearest tourist attraction, for example. With the limitless, digital solution, parking users can leave at any time. This is one of the reasons why we have decided to introduce this new innovative solution to Bergisel. ”

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Even in the City of Wertheim in Baden-Württemberg and on Landesklinikum-Scheibbs in Austria Outdated and maintenance-intensive barrier systems have had their day and have been successfully replaced by the Peter Park system.

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Endless happiness

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Barrier systems have served as a good solution in parking space management for many years. However, digitization also offers new opportunities for parking space management. Smart parking space management solutions such as the Peter Park System not only dispense with cost-intensive mechanical components, they also provide parking lot operators with interesting data — the much-vaunted “gold of the 21st century.” Schedule a conversation with our experts now for digital parking and be happy without limits!

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