With an app that leads to more equal opportunities among employees and a relaxed arrival at the workplace, parking spaces can be optimally managed. Read below to find out how this can work.
Intelligent and digital management of parking spaces
The vehicle density in Germany last year was 692 motor vehicles per 1000 inhabitants. This means that more than every second person in Germany currently owns a car. More vehicles on the roads lead to greater pressure when looking for a parking space and, accordingly, when it comes to parking management. It is not uncommon for employees who, for example, drive their children to the KITA or school before starting work to find that there is no free parking space. In order to be able to withstand this increasing parking pressure, innovative solutions are needed that make parking space management for operators and the search for parking space for motorists both efficient and simple. Despite this, management methods are still being used in Germany’s municipal and underground parking garages at the workplace that are obsolete and no longer able to cope with today’s traffic volumes. This leads to frustration, backlogs and loss of time for parkers.
Everybody has encountered the outdated park management methods: Pulling out and redeeming parking tickets is one of the most common procedures for handling in parking garages. On such parking facilities, the drawing and paying of parking tickets primarily causes a high expenditure of time for the parking staff. In addition, this variant is usually associated with high costs for parking lot operators, which are caused by machines and paper. On highly frequented company parking lots this leads to delays and backlogs at peak times.
In addition, companies often have to deal with other problems. Existing parking facilities are either too small, which leads to an inequality of opportunity among the workforce, or the parking spaces are not used to 100% capacity and are therefore not used economically. Intelligent solutions for efficient parking space management for these problems already exist.
One of them is ParkHere’s Corporate Parking complete solution, which enables the management of parking spaces via an intelligent system. How it works and how it is applied in practice, you can read here.
Part of something big – the ParkHere walkthrough
The ParkHere reservation system is part of the complete solution for intelligent and innovative parking management. This complete solution basically consists of three components that interact with each other to enable parking users and parking operators to book parking space, park in a controlled manner and pay for it.
The ParkHere booking app
1. Booking app
The booking app, which is simply downloaded to the smartphone, is the user’s heart of the ParkHere all-in-one solution. Users can book, cancel and even invoice available parking spaces. Parkers can also enter data such as license plate number and e-mail address. After successfully booking a parking space, they receive a booking confirmation with a QR code.
2. Terminal
Via the terminal, the authentication of incoming vehicles takes place at the entrance of the parking lot. Parking persons can be checked by means of the deposited license plate number via license plate recognition or by scanning the QR code from the booking confirmation.
3. Admin platform
The admin platform is the control center of the parking facility operator and provides real-time information about past and current parking operations. In addition, user groups can be set up with different parking authorizations. The admin platform can also be used to make parking reservations for visitors or board members and manage the parking space users.
How the ParkHere all-in-one solution works – three steps are enough
ParkHere’s corporate parking solution is designed to be very user-friendly for parking operators and users. For example, employees can get to the parking lot in three steps:
Step 1: Register
The company creates its employees via the admin platform. The employee receives an e-mail with the user data. After the employee has installed the app on his smartphone, he registers with the provided user data and stores his data (e.g. name, license plate number, new password).
Step 2: Booking a parking space
If the employee opens the app and wants to reserve a parking space, he can use the calendar function to book a parking space, for example, in the morning, afternoon or full day. In which time window and how far in advance the user can book is determined by the company and controlled by user groups. Depending on the user group in which an employee has been created, the calendar function allows him to book. The booking app determines free parking spaces on the company’s own parking lot in real-time and provides feedback as to whether a parking space is available in the desired period. Once the employee has selected his or her booking requests, he or she can finalize the reservations by clicking on Confirm. It depends on the company whether, for example, available charging stations are also available in the parking spaces – these can also be booked. Depending on the company’s wishes, the app can also be expanded to include a digital billing system.
Step 3: Retract
After the booking confirmation, the employee is shown the assigned parking space in the app with a corresponding QR code, with which he can authenticate himself alternatively to the license plate recognition on entry. In addition, the location of the parking space is displayed via a schematic diagram so that the employee can navigate unerringly to his parking space.
The ParkHere solution in practice
One company that has chosen the ParkHere reservation system is Telefónica Deutschland GmbH & Co KG. In the company headquarters, the O2 Tower, the telecommunications company provides 450 parking spaces for its employees in an underground car park.
The parking spaces were allocated according to a fixed allocation system. This meant that on the one hand, only some of the employees could park and on the other hand, the parking spaces were empty as soon as employees were absent due to illness, business appointments or vacation. This type of parking management led to a high vacancy rate in the parking garage and frustration among employees who had no parking space available.
ParkHere implemented the Corporate Parking System to digitize the management of the entire parking area. With the help of the reservation system, employees can now reserve parking spaces according to their needs. Thanks to dynamic parking space allocation, more employees could be added to the user group, increasing the number of users from 450 to 800. Once an employee has entered his or her license plate number in the system, he or she can book a free parking space with just a few clicks in the employee app and drive in at the terminal using license plate recognition. The license plate of the respective vehicle is authenticated in real time, after which the terminal automatically opens the barrier. The parking space usage data is managed at Telefónica via the central admin platform and also allows reservations to be made for guests, who are legitimized at the terminal using the QR code or the license plate number stored once. The system was very well received by the employees, so that an increase in utilization of up to 95% could be achieved. The following video illustrates the use of ParkHere technology at Telefónica.
Efficient parking space management – for employees and companies
The introduction of an intelligent parking management system, including the booking app, offers various advantages for both employees and companies.
If expensively rented or purchased parking spaces are not sufficiently utilized due to the fixed parking space allocation, the balance sheet of parking space management quickly turns red. The dynamic utilization with the help of the ParkHere reservation system helps to increase utilization by up to 35% based on usage rights. This means that more employees can use the parking spaces, which means that employees on waiting lists, for example, are served. All in all, costs can be reduced or, in the case of rental, additional income can be generated.
The digital billing option also saves the employer valuable resources and operating costs. Thanks to the high degree of flexibility, it is also possible for administrators to reserve a parking space for customers and guests and allow them to enter. In addition, the central admin platform provides the company with real-time information such as available remaining spaces or incorrect parking spaces.
For employees, efficient parking space management using the ParkHere Complete Solution not only means great time savings and stress-free parking, but most importantly, equal opportunities, since the ParkHere Corporate App allows every employee to view and book available parking spaces when they need them. For example, if a part-time mother knows that she only needs a parking space in the mornings all week, she can book this through the ParkHere reservation system and will only use the parking space for that period.
Thanks to the parking lot reservation system, even employees who arrive at work after rush hours due to business appointments or long journeys can find a guaranteed parking space. This time-saving, stress-free and equal opportunities in finding a parking space has a positive effect on employee satisfaction and is also a clear gain in company attractiveness. With ParkHere License Plate Recognition, employee access is four times faster than checking employee ID cards, ensuring a smooth flow of vehicles, no stops, no parking lot search traffic and no paper. The solution thus contributes to a sustainable and economically efficient parking situation that benefits all parties involved.
Conclusion: The advantages of intelligent parking space management
There are few arguments to suggest that Germany’s roads will be relieved in the coming years. The search for parking spaces in public and company parking lots will therefore remain tense. To cope with this ongoing pressure, intelligent solutions for parking space management, such as the ParkHere reservation system, are required. Companies like Telefónica or Giesecke+Devrient have already recognized the signs of the times. Intelligent parking space management not only leads to higher capacity utilization and employee satisfaction, but also contributes to efficient resource utilization and cost savings.
Employees with families, part-time workers or shift workers are less likely to be left behind when it comes to parking space. In addition, the ParkHere reservation system allows employees to book, cancel and – if desired – even pay for parking spaces easily, conveniently and predictably. This saves time, creates comfort and security.
Sources:
https://www.kba.de/DE/Statistik/Fahrzeuge/Bestand/bestand_node.htmlwww.park-here.eu
www.park-here.eu
https://park-here.eu/projekte/#toggle-id-1
all sources were retrieved on 28.02.2020