Case study Söllereckbahn Oberstdorf: How a mountain railway digitised 700 parking spaces without barriers

The Söllereckbahn has digitised its car park with licence plate recognition, eliminating traffic backlogs, enforcement effort and barrier problems. The operator used the quiet off-season for the switch and rates the system as “very well suited to the mountain railway industry”.

Key facts at a glance

• Location: Söllereckbahn, Oberstdorf (Allgäu, Bavaria)
• Operator: Oberstdorf Kleinwalsertal Bergbahnen
• Parking spaces: 700
• Operating days of the mountain railway: almost 365 days a year
• System: Peter Park with barrier-free licence plate recognition, Peter Park pay stations with ski pass scan and signage
• Previous system: ticket column, parking ticket and enforcement by staff
• Timeline: switch in April 2023, in operation since May 2023
• Results (qualitative): no stopping at entry and exit, automatic ski pass discount, seamless enforcement, staff relieved, year-round revenue

Starting point: What problems did the Söllereckbahn have with its car park?

The Söllereckbahn takes its guests up to an altitude of 1,400 metres and operates almost all year round. As part of its development into a year-round and family mountain, the operator turned its attention to the car park. Until spring 2023, it was managed with a ticket machine and checked by staff. This led to three core problems.

Delays at peak times

The car park fills up even before the first gondolas run or the Allgäu Coaster starts. In addition to mountain railway guests, hikers and day-trippers park there early in the morning. Henrik Volpert describes the situation at the time as follows:

“There was a column where guests pulled their ticket, and inspectors who checked whether everyone parking had bought one. The user interfaces of the systems we used either responded too slowly to handle the morning rush or were not intuitive to use. In addition to well-functioning hardware, the user-friendliness of the software is also an important criterion for us to enable fast processing times on the car park.”

In addition, vehicles could enter and leave the car park without any control. Checking the displayed parking tickets by staff did not guarantee complete coverage.

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Mixed use with different rates

Winter sports enthusiasts, hikers and families do not all pay the same price. Anyone with a ski ticket receives a discount on the parking fee. With the old system, this did not work satisfactorily:

“The conventional systems also had difficulties implementing the different pricing structures, for example when it came to recognising a ski ticket in order to grant the parking winter sports enthusiast a discount. This did not work reliably or took too long, which led to delays on the car park, for example.”

Technology that fails in winter

At temperatures below freezing, conventional barrier systems frequently break down. Drivers then enter and exit unhindered, fees are lost and repairs cost money. For the Söllereckbahn, a barrier was out of the question mainly because of the processing time per vehicle:

“We had to find a technically reliable solution: We are an outdoor business and are open almost 365 days a year. Accordingly, the system must also work reliably in winter. At the same time, the processing time per vehicle must be as fast as possible, which unfortunately leads to problems again and again at our car parks with barriers, especially at busy times.”

Why did the Söllereckbahn use the off-season for the switch?

Between the ski season and the hiking summer, it is quiet in the mountains. Mountain railways use this time for the technical overhaul of cable cars and lifts. However, the off-season is just as suitable for an economic review. Seasonal and weather-dependent businesses in particular should then examine four questions:

• Staff: How can tasks be distributed without overburdening the team in view of the shortage of skilled workers?
• Time: Which processes can be automated, and how much faster will they then run?
• Revenue: What income is possible in addition to tickets, ideally all year round?
• Costs: Which cost factors can be reduced or avoided altogether?

Parking management is often overlooked in this analysis, even though it touches on all four areas. This is exactly where the Söllereckbahn started, switching the car park in April 2023, long before the season began in December.

How was the Peter Park system implemented at the Söllereckbahn?

The previous ticket columns were dismantled and replaced by pay stations from Peter Park. Since then, new cameras have recorded licence plates at the entrance and exit. Signs inform drivers about the barrier-free process, and further panels at the pay stations explain it step by step.

For the operator, reliability and meeting deadlines were what mattered most:

“Our requirement for Peter Park as a partner was that we have close and good contact, for example if questions arise. As we are a seasonal business, projects have to be implemented and completed reliably on time. If the ski season starts on a fixed date in mid-December, the parking management system must also work smoothly at that point. Peter Park met these requirements and the cooperation worked very well from the start.”

What has changed since the switch?

Free flow instead of backlogs

Visitors drive in and out without stopping. This means fewer backlogs, especially in the morning and evening. Payment is made at the end of the stay at user-friendly pay stations. Depending on the equipment, the Peter Park system also supports card payment and common parking apps.

“Well-functioning parking management is necessary to organise the cars. The use of the barrier-free parking system meets our goal of minimising traffic searching for parking and thus relieving both guests and residents of traffic.”

Ski pass discount by scan

Winter sports enthusiasts scan their ski pass at the pay station and automatically receive the discount on their parking time. This is made possible by the connection to the mountain railway's ticketing system:

“As a mountain railway operator, we are a leisure provider and not parking specialists. It was important for us to find a system that meets our requirements. This includes connecting a ticketing system so that we can offer our pricing structure and the discounts it includes smoothly and completely. So far, this has worked very well with Peter Park's system solution at the Söllereckbahn.”

Less staff effort, lower costs

GDPR-compliant cameras make a barrier system unnecessary. There are no costs for servicing, maintaining and repairing barriers. The car park is monitored seamlessly, so patrols are no longer needed. The former enforcement staff now focus on tasks that add more value. Parking violations are recorded and followed up automatically, through an external service provider if desired.

Revenue all year round

As the system runs around the clock, it also records parking sessions outside the railway's operating hours. Daily or seasonal rates can be set for each customer group. Long-term parkers, campers or ski tourers no longer block the car park free of charge. This reduces dependence on weather and season.

What does the operator recommend to other mountain railways?

Henrik Volpert sees digital parking systems as the way forward for the industry. He took stock in 2023 after the first three months of operation:

“In the mountain railway industry, the trend away from free parking towards managed car parks is becoming increasingly established. Against this background, my appeal to other mountain railway operators would be to be bold and introduce digital solutions straight away. They are inexpensive to purchase, are well received by guests and prices can be enforced one hundred percent. At first we were sceptical whether licence plate recognition was already sufficiently accepted in Germany and whether it would also work in winter. However, our experience with the Peter Park system after three months has been entirely positive: The system is the right choice for us and, in my opinion, very well suited to the mountain railway industry.”

An overview of challenges and solutions for ski and hiking areas can be found in the guide Parking management for mountain railways.

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Conclusion

The Söllereckbahn shows that barrier-free parking works reliably in winter, even at a busy outdoor location. Backlogs, gaps in enforcement and problems with the ski pass discount are a thing of the past there. Anyone using the off-season for an economic review should therefore put parking management at the top of the list.