Smart cities need to be accessible to all, and that includes those who drive electric vehicles (EVs), especially as they continue to rise in popularity. EV drivers using public chargers frequently encounter a problem: their app or car thinks the charger is available, while in reality the charging space is occupied by a vehicle that is not charging, has finished charging, or is occupied by a car with an internal combustion engine (ICE).  The EV industry has even coined a term for this practice, “ICEing”.

ICEing significantly reduces the utilization of publicly accessible urban EV chargers. This reduces revenue for the charging companies and increases frustration for EV drivers seeking a charge. EV chargers are usually subsidized by governments so ICEing also wastes those public funds.

Cleverciti helps its clients reduce ICEing and maximize utilization of EV chargers by monitoring the usage of EV parking spaces both on-street and off-street.  Cleverciti’s sensors provide real-time occupancy detection using industry-leading artificial intelligence (AI) technology to determine if an EV charger has an available parking space. That data is married to the charging status reported by the EV charger itself. Municipalities and/or the charging company are able to access this occupancy status via the Cleverciti Cockpit, where they’ll be able to see a bird’s eye view of usage of all chargers. The accurate availability status of each charger can then be published to EV drivers via standard charging apps, giving drivers the confidence they will find an available space.

This innovative approach to ICEing has already shown tremendous success in the German city of Düsseldorf. To help solve for ICEing, the city receives violation alerts any time a vehicle has been parked in a dedicated EV space, without charging, for at least 10 minutes. This could be either a vehicle that arrives and doesn’t start charging in the first 10 minutes, or a vehicle that has finished charging but remains parked after 10 minutes. The municipality then has the information necessary to enforce correct usage of these spaces, for example by issuing a warning or fine. Data obtained over 3 months in Düsseldorf identified an average of 1.25 violations per charger per day (40 per month). Each of these violations represents lost use of a public asset – the EV Charger – because a vehicle is blocking it while not charging, lost charging revenue, and EV driver frustration.

As the world races to deploy EV chargers, Cleverciti stands ready to support cities and EV charging companies to maximize the utilization of those chargers and to guide EV drivers to available charging spaces.

Book a demo now to see how Cleverciti can help you.

Atlanta, Georgia and Munich, Germany — 21st July 2022

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Cleverciti® announces the Circ® 360 Ultra and Circ® 360 Ultra+, the next generation of its flagship parking guidance product.

This newly updated version of the patented Circ builds on the success of the original with improved features, higher resolution, and more flexibility for customers.

Circ 360 Ultra+

By mounting a Circ 360 Ultra at intersections or decision points, drivers are guided turn-by-turn to available parking spaces— whether on-street, surface lot or a garage. Redwood City, California has a Circ at most intersections in its downtown core, as well as at each surface lot entrance.

Original Circ in Redwood City, providing guidance into a surface lot

“The Circ has allowed Redwood City to provide dynamic parking information to the public while maintaining a small, flexible, non-intrusive footprint. It allows parkers to get a real-time snapshot of the parking availability in an area, minimizing unneeded circling and reducing traffic congestion.”

— Christian Hammack, Redwood City's Parking Manager

The Circ 360 Ultra has a 50% higher resolution versus the original Circ, enabling richer graphics and greater clarity in communication to drivers. The display is available in single-height (Circ 360 Ultra) and double-height versions (Circ 360 Ultra+), allowing for additional messaging. With this real estate, clients can now use the Circ to communicate detailed information like bus or train arrival times, reinforce neighborhood branding, or sell advertising space to help fund parking operations.

Circ 360 Ultra+

Circ 360 Ultra

“We have already proven we can reduce parking search times by 45-55% through deploying the Circ for turn-by-turn parking guidance,” said David Parker, CEO of Cleverciti. “The Circ 360 Ultra brings our driver communication capabilities to the next level.”

The Circ 360 Ultra combines the above improvements with the best of the original Circ. Key features include:

• Unique, patented 360° display that provides real-time turn-by-turn guidance for drivers helping to reduce the time spent searching for parking, and in turn, emissions.

• 50% higher resolution.

• Two sizes (single and double height) for full flexibility of content displayed.

• Remotely managed & monitored 24/7, like all Cleverciti devices.

• Display parking occupancy data for spaces managed by the Cleverciti platform; option to pull data from any other source (such as train arrival times).

• Ability to change templates on-the-fly through the Cleverciti Cockpit to update the guidance plan as needed— such as for special events.

• Dimmable to ensure maximum readability while minimizing light pollution (Automatically or by schedule).

• Mounted onto and powered by existing infrastructure, facilitating easy installation whilst integrating seamlessly into the streetscape.

The Circ 360 Ultra will be demoed live next week (July 24-27) at IPMI, New Orleans at Cleverciti’s Booth— #720

Last week, we spent a couple of days with our industry at ParkEx. It was a great opportunity to interact with other members of our industry, engage in insightful talks and learn about evolving trend within our industry. Here are our top 3 trends from ParkEx.

1) Data

There was a key focus on data and how organisations can use data to optimise parking capacity, revenue streams and make drivers lives easier. The talk ‘Linking It Together’ spoke about utilising the different data sources available to improve customer experience from the perspective of both commercial customers and drivers. Here, we can see a push towards comprehensive applications of data to help improve the customer experience such as providing a platform that drivers are able to choose which parking app they wish to pay with or offering turn-by-turn guidance powered by sensors and AI. At Cleverciti, we offer a comprehensive platform that aligns different data sources, providing insights that allow our customers to be more agile with their parking solutions.

2) Collaboration

A continuing trend in the industry is collaboration with 3rd party providers. We saw many instances where organisations collaborated to find innovative solutions to challenging problems. As the environment we operate in changes, with more suburban parking, environmental concerns and changing vehicle requirements such as EV’s, new solutions are required to resolve these challenges. Collaboration is one way of helping to move the industry forward. We have collaborated with several industry partners to resolve issues or challenges they were facing. Find out more here. Want to find out more about what we can do to help resolve your parking issue? Contact us here to start the conversation.

3) Safety

Safety is at the forefront of the industry. Whether it be personal, vehicle or property safety, several players are bringing focus to safety and what we can do to help improve safety. An interesting talk ‘Women In Parking’ looked at both the careers of women in parking but also what we can be doing to improve the safety of women who use carparks or parking spaces. This was coupled with personal and property safety with talks focusing on fire risk in parking structures and protecting frontline enforcement officers. This provided insight into another area of focus for the industry and challenged thinking of what safety means.

44.6% - is the increased payment rate of motorists parking in the Nippes district of Cologne. Since Cleverciti implemented its state-of-the-art smart parking guidance system in the city of Cologne last year in collaboration with energy provider RheinEnergie, the project has received a lot of positive feedback - and now the first concrete results are in to prove the success of Smart Parking. While the original goal was to reduce parking search traffic in order to reduce CO2 emissions and at the same time increase the quality of life for residents, the statistics also show that installing a smart parking system increases willingness to pay and can therefore have a direct financial benefit for the city.

COLOGNE’S SUCCESS STORY WITH SMART PARKING

As Germany's fourth-largest city, Cologne is not only one of Cleverciti's most prominent installations, but also one of the most comprehensive intelligent parking guidance systems in the world. In order to reduce search traffic in the lively district of Nippes and thus improve the quality of life for residents and attractiveness for visitors as well as reduce climate-damaging CO2 emissions, all 800 parking spaces along the streets around Neusser Strasse are detected with Cleverciti's modern overhead sensors with regard to free and occupied parking spaces. The information is then displayed directly on-site at 27 central intersections via Cleverciti Circ® LED displays. Drivers thus receive real-time information on the location and number of available parking spaces. The concept of luck to find a parking space is a thing of the past and is replaced by data-based directional guidance. The Cleverciti Sensors do not collect any personal data in the process. The system has been active since June 1, 2020. In October 2020, the parking system was supplemented by a mobile app called "ParkPilot Cologne". This provides information on the parking situation in Cologne-Nippes before arrival, including the availability of special parking spaces such as e-charging parking spaces. At the same time, you can be navigated directly to the next available parking space or to the optimal parking space for the destination you enter. Once you arrive at the parking lot, you can pay the parking fees by selecting a mobile payment provider within the app itself

With the project, which is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure, the city of Cologne and RheinEnergie have taken a major step toward Smart City and Smart Mobility using forward-looking technologies.

Read the full case study here.

INCREASED PAYMENT RATE = REAL FINANCIAL BENEFIT

The first figures are in! And they are indisputable proof of the positive effects of a modern smart parking system:

• The payment rate in Cologne-Nippes among those who have to pay for parking (excluding drivers with residents' passes or other permits) increased from 38.6% to 44.6%

Since the deployment of the smart parking system, the payment rate has increased significantly - proving that a smart parking system can be a significant financial benefit for any city.

“This is a very positive development, especially in the period of just over a year. It shows that drivers are happy to use our service - and are willing to pay for a parking system that makes their daily lives easier.”

— Thomas Hohenacker, CEO of Cleverciti

INCREASED UTILIZATION OF EXISTING PARKING SPACES = MORE REVENUE

In cities, available space is regularly in short supply. The goal must therefore be to make the best possible use of existing resources. A parking guidance system can be used to locate the last available parking spaces. The good news is that the increase in willingness to pay for parking has been accompanied by an increase in utilization:

• Utilization of parking spaces rose from 85% to 92%.

AMORTIZATION OF INVESTMENT IN ONLY ABOUT 2 YEARS

Based on the study results, in Cologne-Nippes, 520 monetized parking spaces with a fee of EUR 2 per hour result in an increase in parking revenue of 100,000 Euro per year (approx. 200 Euro per parking space) for the city of Cologne.

It is noteworthy that for this positive increase in revenue, no new parking spaces had to be created and no price increase was necessary. The key change in the area was the introduction of the smart parking system, which, thanks to Cleverciti's sensors and displays, navigates people to the nearest available parking space and makes optimal use of the available parking spaces.

• The increased revenue means a payback period of less than 2 years for the investment in the Cleverciti smart parking system.

The cost of the system includes operation, monitoring and remote maintenance by Cleverciti.

ADDITIONAL POSITIVE EFFECTS FOR THE CITY

As mentioned before, the original goal of the cooperation between the City of Cologne, RheinEnergie and Cleverciti was to reduce parking search traffic in the Nippes district. Was it successful? It certainly was:

• Over 145 test drives on December 20 and January 21 showed an impressive 45% reduction in parking search time

This involved comparing trips with information about the location of available parking spaces with purely random directional decisions without information at three locations. The results show the benefits of information and the potential for reducing parking search traffic and thus CO2 emissions simply by providing data, without any prohibitions at all. Since nearly 30% of all car traffic in cities is due to parking search, this is a crucial step towards a greener city.

Sustainability is one of the most important issues of our time. Cities that embrace a sustainable future now will be the winners of tomorrow.

Every smart city strives to become climate neutral. With the help of the latest technologies, cities can take an important step in this direction.

Smart parking plays an essential role in the way to smart mobility and infrastructure. If at the same time there is more revenue for the city from parking fees, all the better!

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Smart parking - the essential piece to your Smart City strategy.

📥 Download the Ultimate Smart City Parking Guide here

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We love to say that parking hasn’t changed in 100 years. Until Smart Parking, finding a parking space has always been based on pure luck. Will I find a pole to tie my horse up to? Will I find a parking spot to park my car? But then Smart Parking came along and revolutionized parking completely. It started out with simple ground sensors and moved to sophisticated overhead sensors that eliminated the element of luck. Smart Parking as we know it has evolved into ingenious sensory guidance systems, leading drivers effortlessly to the nearest available parking spot, while saving time and money, improving quality of life, and reducing emissions substantially. Pretty impressive, wouldn’t you say? We’ve come a long way, and we are confident there is a lot more to come. But first, let’s look back at how it all started. 

Above mentioned milestones have influenced (smart) parking directly. But, of course, that were more important milestones that indirectly played a role in the development of smart parking as well. 1886, for example, is regarded as the birth year of the modern car when German inventor Karl Benz patented his Benz Patent-Motorwagen. By 1900 mass production of cars was well underway in France and the US. Without the existence of cars, no smart parking. In 1920, forerunners of automated parking systems (APS) appeared for the first time in big American cities like LA, Chicago, New York, and Cincinnati. The Paternoster system, as is depicted in the image above, was applied for the first time in real-life on Chicago’s Monroe Street in 1932. Between 1940 and 1950 the US built more and more APS, some of them still in use today, such as Bowser, Pigeon Hole and Roto Park. In 1951, the first-ever driverless parking garage was built in Washington D.C. The UK followed in 1961, when the Auto Stacker is installed in Woolwich, London, which was - at that point - still quite hard to operate.

The US interest in APS lessened slightly in the 90s, while more technically advanced APS appear in Europe, Asia and Central America. In the late 90s, Japan even became the world-leading production country for APS with over 100,000 automated parking spaces per year. 

Early 2000, the (smart) parking sensor technology is really starting to take off, especially in malls and shopping centers. The first robotic garage is build in 2002 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Simultaneously, the use of GPS for smart parking solutions is mentioned in scientific research for the first time.

The history of Cleverciti

In 2012, Cleverciti enters the smart parking stage, initially under the name of “Schlauerparken”. Three years in, the company has already grown a lot, more and more people have joined the team and the company needs a more international name to better fit the international ambitions of the team. First international clients of Cleverciti go live, including Dubai in the UAE. 

In 2016, Cleverciti got awarded with Deloitte’s prestigious Technology Fast 50 Award and over a dozen other international awards, for their innovative parking solutions using high-tech sensors. Cleverciti launches the world’s most comprehensive turn-by-turn guidance solution in Cologne, Germany, in 2020. Early 2021, a smart tourism project in Lübeck Bay that includes Cleverciti’s smart parking guidance system gets awarded with the Deutscher Tourismuspreis 2020.

And the best is yet to come….

More information about Cleverciti’s history can be found here.

Want to have a chat with one of our smart parking experts about what the future of smart parking looks like? Schedule a demo below.

107 hours—that is how much time drivers in the U.S. spend looking for a parking space. In Europe, numbers vary between 60 and 90 hours per year. This is not only a colossal waste of time, but it also negatively impacts the environment and causes enormous economic losses. When drivers are unable to find a parking space, 34% resort to either parking their car illegally or canceling their planned activity altogether. 

Smart parking can remedy the situation. As a study pitting drivers using smart technology to find their parking space against those relying on sheer luck has shown, those using smart parking systems spent 43 percent less time driving. Innovative parking systems can be employed in a number of different environments, four of which have been outlined below. 

Smart Parking Use Case #1: Tourism Destination

While tourism is vitally important for many economies and regions around the world, popular destinations often struggle with an onslaught of visitors during the high seasons. One of the side effects is an increase in traffic, affecting not only a destinations’ popularity among visitors but also severely disrupting inhabitants’ daily lives. Visitor flows need to be steered in a way that tourists can easily find parking spaces at their destination while not decreasing the quality of life for inhabitants. 

The German “Tourismus-Agentur Lübecker Bucht” sought to devise a concept that would direct the 1.5 million day visitors per year along the coast efficiently. Those visitors usually head for the parking lots closest to the beaches, which fill up rapidly. Next, drivers will search aimlessly in adjacent parking lots or residential areas, inevitably causing congestion and traffics jams. 

To remedy this problem while also lowering CO2 emissions and providing a less stressful environment for residents and tourists alike, the tourism agency together with Cleverciti implemented a parking system to monitor real-time occupancy of parking lots close to a popular beach. This smart parking system allows visitors to find out ahead of time whether there are still parking spaces available and directs them to alternative parking areas if necessary. 

Read the full case study here. 

Smart Parking Use Case #2: City 

With a large number of people relying on personal vehicles in their daily lives, cities often suffer from traffic jams and congestion, many of which are caused by parking search. This not only lowers the quality of life in cities but also impacts the environment negatively, with almost 30% of carbon emissions being caused by parking search traffic. According to research, one car circling around while looking for available parking emits approximately 1.3 kilograms of carbon dioxide. 

The city of Cologne, Germany, had a similar problem in one of its liveliest districts with drivers spending large amounts of time on their parking search. Together with Cleverciti, the energy provider RheinEnergie aimed to improve quality of life and reduce emissions in the neighborhood by implementing a smart parking system in Cologne-Nippes. 

As part of this system, Cleverciti Sensors monitoring the availability of parking spaces as well as LED display relaying relevant parking information to the drivers were installed. This resulted in previously unused parking spaces now being used optimally, thus providing a valuable service for Cologne’s citizens and generating additional income for the city. 

Read the full case study here.   

Smart Parking Use Case #3: Office

For corporate campuses that service a large workforce, communication is critical to the effectiveness of a smart parking solution. In many cases, drivers lack accurate guidance that helps them find available parking under time pressure. 

EnBW, one of Germany’s biggest energy providers, had a similar problem in its office locations in Stuttgart and Biberach. In both locations, the parking situation was confusing with employees often having to spend valuable time on their parking search. In addition, there was no comprehensive parking data available to support intelligent infrastructure decisions. 

Cleverciti developed a comprehensive parking guidance system for both office parking lots, helping to reduce parking search times significantly by providing real-time occupancy data per single parking space that is used to feed into the EnBW parking app. This greatly improves the overall work environment while also saving on working time and reducing harmful vehicle emissions. 

Using existing infrastructure to install the Cleverciti Sensors that monitor the parking spaces meant that no extra installation costs were incurred. Cleverciti’s end-to-end solutions also include remote maintenance and other services, meaning that internal administrative efforts are minimized. 

Read the full case study here.  

Use Case #4: Train Station

Many cities around the world are trying to promote local train services and incentivize citizens to use public transport instead of their personal vehicles in the hopes of reducing traffic and harmful vehicle emissions. Especially in rural areas taking the train to work often includes a short car ride to the train station, which means that parking spaces have to be readily available. However, the challenge lies in finding a parking space at the train station quickly and easily while under time pressure. Unnecessarily long parking search times can be a reason for people not to take public transport at all.

The municipality of Kerken in Germany wanted to tackle this challenge: Its proximity to major cities meant that many inhabitants commuted to work daily but found it difficult to find available parking spaces ahead of their train journey. 

Municipality officials worked together with Cleverciti to remedy the situation, implementing a comprehensive parking service that supplies drivers with accurate information regarding the availability of parking spaces ahead of time and diverting them to alternative parking should their initial destination be fully occupied. 

To that end, Cleverciti Sensors were installed on several lampposts, some of which had to be equipped with battery-powered solutions to provide electricity 24/7. These sensors monitor the parking area and provide accurate information about the availability of parking spaces. 

Read the full case study here. 

Want to know more about our smart parking solutions? Click the button below and schedule a demo with one of our smart parking experts directly.

Suppliers of smart parking sensors worth mentioning are Nedap, EnSight and Cleverciti. 

First of all, it is important to define: what makes a good sensor? A good sensor is:

• reliable in all weather conditions

• detects vehicles even in floating parking space rather than (only) detecting individual parking bays

• easy to install, on existing infrastructure

Cleverciti Sensor

Cleverciti, a global company with offices in the US and UK and headquarters in Munich, Germany, has managed to harness the power of edge computing, artificial intelligence, and deep learning to provide a smart parking solution that shapes the streetscape of smart cities. The Cleverciti Sensor measures the exact position and size of open parking spaces, supplying drivers and parking operators with highly reliable, real-time information on available spaces.

With a range of up to 220 degrees, the Cleverciti Sensor can cover up to 100 parking spaces through edge computing, IoT & AI technology. It does not have to be installed in-ground but instead makes use of existing infrastructure and can be mounted on lamp posts, masts or buildings. Depending on the surroundings, the installation of one sensor takes less than one hour. Should the needs change, the sensors can easily be relocated.

Data captured by the sensors is updated every three seconds, allowing real-time detection of available parking spaces. Processing of the data occurs within the sensor itself, meaning that no video leaves the sensor. This not only minimizes bandwidth costs but also ensures that the smart parking system is fully compliant with privacy regulations. In addition, data transmissions are fully encrypted.

Would you like to see for yourself? Then click below and schedule a demo by one of our smart parking experts.

From the invention of the first parking meters, parking technology has come a long way, allowing today’s users to independently navigate the entire parking experience. As technologies continue to advance and parking behavior changes, smart parking is bound to evolve as well. Let’s take a look at the smart parking developments we can expect to see in the future. 

1. Increased Efficiency of Parking Systems

The present generation of parking systems offers basic automation, offering users information on the occupancy status of parking spaces and enabling automated ticketing and payment. Within the next ten years, however, users will expect an increase in the efficiency of parking systems. This will entail, among other things, direct guidance to an available parking space and real-time information about other mobility solutions in the vicinity. 

2. Growing Shared Mobility Market

As much as 50% of current car owners predict that shared mobility services will replace private car ownership—mainly because car sharing is, in many cases, cheaper and more sustainable. The shared mobility market is expected to be valued at $619.5 billion by 2025, which is bound to also impact smart parking. 

3. Including Increasing Mobility Mix in Smart Parking

As transportation systems become more and more integrated, parking operators will have to take a variety of transport options into account. Drivers will need accurate and real-time information on mobility solutions ranging from cars and ride-shares to scooters, public transport, and bicycles. 

4. Reducing Emissions with Smart Parking Systems

As cities around the world set out to reduce their harmful emissions, smart parking will be an increasingly important part of environmental initiatives. Deploying a citywide smart parking solution is the fastest way a city can reduce its traffic congestion—and with that, its emissions. Other changes such as a switch to more electric vehicles or more efficient air conditioning and building insulation require many years of changes in consumer behavior, while smart parking shows its effects almost overnight.  

5. Increasing Analysis of and Need for Parking Data

As parking requirements change, parking operators will have to analyze changes in parking behavior. In-depth analyses require data. Smart parking systems will therefore not only have to provide reliable services to users but also generate accurate data on parking behaviors, peak hours, etc. 

6. Restructuring Parking Spaces to Accommodate Autonomous Vehicles

With the rise of autonomous vehicles, parking spaces will have to be replanned and restructured to accommodate their needs that differ from those of conventional vehicles. They will change the usage of cars in general and parking modalities in particular with their self-parking features and robotic valet parking. 

Download our full guide to smart cities and the future of smart parking by clicking the button below. 

Munich, February 19th 2021 - Cleverciti is proud to announce the publication of the Ultimate Smart City Parking Guide 2021. When you say smart city parking, you say Cleverciti. That is why we’ve decided to gather all the stats and put down our knowledge and share it with you through this essential Smart City Parking Guide. The complete guide can be downloaded here. 

Why an Ultimate Smart City Parking Guide?

Because smart cities are becoming both increasingly popular and important. Smart cities are the future and smart parking plays a vital part in the development of smart cities. It’s time to shed some light on the challenges that (smart) cities face and how smart parking can help conquer those.

What can you expect from the Ultimate Smart City Parking Guide 2021?

Our aim is to share our knowledge with regard to smart cities, smart parking and new mobility (smart city mobility), and to shine a light on the role smart parking solutions play to support your smart city design.

What’s inside the Ultimate Smart City Parking Guide 2021?

• A detailed analysis of the challenges that cities face today

• Real solutions that tackle these challenges

• The influence of climate change on the development of smart cities

• Insights into the future of smart cities in 2021 and beyond

• The role of smart parking in the development of smart cities

• Emission reduction due to smart parking

• Concrete use cases of smart parking solutions in smart cities

• Insights into the future of smart parking

Download the guide now.:

Here is a sneak preview:

44 Terms All Smart City Leaders and Urban Mobility Professionals Should Know

1. (Driver) adoption

The (driver) adoption is the level of acceptance of the new solution among the intended user group. In other words: does their new behavior reflect what was intended? Do they accept and follow the newly implemented system? Cleverciti, for example, together with their clients, monitors the behavior of drivers before and after implementation of the smart parking solution to measure adoption.

2. AI / Artificial Intelligence

AI or Artificial Intelligence, which is a broader name for the theory and research that involve the intelligence showcased by machines, instead of the natural intelligence displayed by humans and animals involving consciousness and emotionality. 

3. Arrival experience

The arrival experience is the first impression customers/guests get after they have arrived. The moment the customer parks is the first experience he/she has with your service level. That is why it is so important to create a pleasant arrival experience. 

4. Carbon footprint / CO2 footprint

The carbon footprint or CO2 footprint is a calculation of the carbon dioxide that enters the atmosphere as a result of the activities of a particular individual, organization or community.

5. Carbon neutrality

Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere with the goal of achieving net zero emissions.  

6. Circling

Circling is the behavior of drivers when they drive around a certain area constantly searching for a free parking spot.

7. (Traffic) congestion

Congestion is also described as overcrowding or blockage. Traffic congestion occurs when the space of the road is not enough anymore to handle the amount of vehicles in traffic.

8. Curb management

With more people ordering online and using ride-hailing services, managing the curb is becoming increasingly important. Curb management solutions include monitoring the loading zone occupancy, identification of vehicle types, issuing permits in advance and more. 

9. Deployment

Deployment is a term used in IT to describe the installation or activation of a new solution. 

10. Dynamic pricing

Dynamic pricing is adapting the price for rental of parking space based on the demand.

11. Dynamic reservation

Dynamic reservation means offering the possibility to drivers to reserve a parking spot ahead of time via an app or website. These reservations can be altered at any point, and become free for another reservation. 

12. Edge-computing

Contrary to cloud computing, with edge-computing, data is not processed in a data center, but in the device itself or by a local computer or server. That is why it is also called a decentralized computing paradigm. 

13. End-to-end-solution

An end-to-end-solution is a solution that covers a process or service from beginning to end and is completely functional on its own without being dependent on a third party.

14. Environmental impact

The environmental impact is defined as any change to the environment resulting from a certain activity, service or product. More recently, this term is used mostly to describe negative effects on the environment.

15. Floating parking spaces

Floating parking spaces are parking spaces that aren’t marked with lines on the ground, for example along the street. Cars can freely park in a line depending on the size of the car. As floating parking spaces cannot be detected by ground sensors, Cleverciti works with overhead sensors that view the object, not the space.

16. Full-service solution

Instead of buying sensors or signs separately, full-service solutions offer a subscription to a full parking solution. This includes support, software as well as hardware upgrades, and even replacement of any failed or updated hardware—making your life easier and parking management more efficient than ever before.

17. GovTech

GovTech is about applying new technologies (such as artificial intelligence, advanced data processing, etc.) to improve the delivery of public services through increasing efficiency and minimizing costs.

18. Internet of Things (IoT)

IoT refers to a system of objects that are interconnected and together make it possible to collect and transfer data over a wireless network without human intervention.

19. Maximizing ROI / Maximize return

Return on investment is a standardized measure for profitability. Maximizing the return on investment for parking assets can be done by for example installing a parking guidance system or applying dynamic pricing.

20. Multimodal transport

Multimodal transport is the transportation of goods under a single contract(or), but performed with at least two different modes of transport.

21. On-street parking

On-street parking is parking by taking up room on the actual street alongside the curb, as opposed to parking in a parking garage or a designated parking lot. 

22. Overhead parking sensors

Overhead parking sensors, unlike ground parking sensors, are mounted above parking areas to more efficiently analyze the individual cars below. This type of sensor uses AI and IoT technology while being conveniently mounted on existing lampposts or buildings. 

23. Parking assets

Assets are items of property owned by a person or a company, regarded as having value and available to meet debts, commitments, or legacies. With parking assets are meant: any assets that can be used for parking, such as surface parking lots, parking garages, on-street parking, etc.

24. Parking capacity / occupancy

The parking capacity or occupancy is the measurement of the number of taken parking spots, preferably measured in real-time, so that data on how many parking spots are still free is available at any given time. 

25. Parking data

Parking data is any data related to parking, e.g. parking occupancy, length of stay, specific rush hours in a region, average parking price, parking revenue generated.

26. Parking guidance (system)

Parking guidance is a system that guides the driver to the best available parking space. The most reliable way to do this is with local digital signage.

27. Parking request for proposal (RFP)

A parking request for proposal (RFP) is a public business document that announces and provides details about a parking project, as well as solicits bids from suppliers who will help complete the project. RFPs are commonly used by governments. RFPs usually don’t go into as much detail as tenders. 

28. Parking revenue

Parking revenue is the revenue that is derived from the rental of parking space against a certain price.

29. (Smart) parking tender

A (smart) parking tender is a formal, structured procedure for generating competing offers from different potential smart parking solutions providers.

30. Payment compliance

Payment compliance is the inclination of drivers to pay for their parking spot when they are requested to do so. Cities around the globe struggle to increase parking payment compliance.

31. Real-time data

Real-time data is information that is available immediately after gathering it. There is no delay between gathering the data and being able to access the data. Therefore, it depicts the status of that exact moment.

32. Search traffic / parking search / parking search time

Search traffic, also called parking search or parking search time, is the traffic that is caused by people searching for a parking spot. Around 30% of all traffic is attributed to parking search.

33. Smart city

Smart cities are cities in which the use of technology, information, and data is promoted to enhance and improve the overall infrastructure, quality of life, environmental impact and publicly accessible services. Smart parking solutions, as part of an overall smart mobility or transport plan, are key to the development of a smart city.

34. Smart city mobility plan

A smart city mobility plan is a strategic plan that addresses ways to apply urban mobility solutions to contribute to the development of a smart city. These plans aim to improve the quality of life for citizens and visitors with innovative and efficient methods of moving people and vehicles around the city.

35. Smart lamppost

Smart lampposts are the next generation of the traditional street lamppost equipped with connectivity, (solar) power, and other smart city devices. Existing infrastructure such as traditional lampposts can be transformed into a smart hub easily by adding innovative battery-powered solutions to reduce cost and hassle.

36. Smart mobility

Smart mobility focuses on new and other forms of transport rather than using your own car; such as ride-sharing, car-sharing, public transportation, walking, biking, electric charge stations and more.

37. Smart parking

Smart parking makes data available to drivers at the points where they need to make a decision and allows them to make informed decisions on where to park which gives drivers back time, reduces CO2 emissions and alleviates traffic congestion.

38. Smart parking system

A smart parking system uses real-time data to guide drivers to the best possible parking spot by using overhead sensors and digital signage.

39. Smart tourism

Smart tourism helps tourism destinations become more attractive to visitors by applying information and communications technologies to provide its guests with access to tourism and hospitality products, services, spaces, and experiences.

40. Solution as a Service (SaaS)

SaaS is a new approach to cloud computing that focuses on delivering all aspects of an IT solution as a one packaged deal.

41. Space management

Managing parking spaces effectively and efficiently by, for example, monitoring the real-time occupancy, visualizing actionable trends based on historic data or detecting floating spaces. Data is generated to make parking operations more efficient and increases ROI of the parking asset.

42. Transportation master plan

Transportation master plans are formulated by city governments and serve as a roadmap for investments in long-range transportation infrastructure.

43. Turn-by-turn guidance

Turn-by-turn-guidance shows the driver—in real-time and on every corner—where there are parking spots available and therefore guides them turn-by-turn to the nearest available spot.

44. Urban traffic

Urban traffic is a specific term for any type of movement of people and vehicles in a city. Urban areas worldwide seek innovative solutions to reduce urban traffic.

By Founder & CEO Thomas Hohenacker

The answer is yes. Smart parking should be an integral part of a city’s streetscape. Now and in the future. Innovative smart parking systems can help reduce congestion and vehicle emissions in urban areas while also assisting drivers in finding the most convenient parking space.

Most of us are used to parking without any outside guidance – and while we do know that it is possible, it is also stressful and ineffective. In major cities such as Hamburg, Germany, up to 40% of traffic is caused by drivers looking for a space to park their vehicle. The average worldwide search time amounts to 20 minutes. With the help of smart parking, unnecessary driving in an already complicated environment can be reduced significantly.

Modern AI-overhead sensors on lampposts, in-ground sensors and other approaches detect available parking spaces in real-time, relaying the information to mobile applications and websites. Ideally, the information regarding the occupancy of spaces is also made available to drivers on local digital signage.

Smart parking in an urban context

Readily available parking spaces tend to be a rare commodity in crowded cities with drivers circling an area repeatedly on the look-out for a free spot. Smart parking systems can help maximize available parking by detecting all free spaces and guiding drivers to the most convenient one, allowing them to avoid unnecessary time loss.

The intelligent data gathered by these systems can be used by civic authorities, city planners, and parking operators to develop concepts for the smart city of the future.

In addition, smart solutions improve the monitoring of the appropriate use of dedicated zones such as handicap or delivery and of illegally parked vehicles while also decreasing operational costs.

Smart parking in a commercial context

In shopping centers and corporate car lots, smart parking can also improve the driver experience by guiding customers and employees to the nearest available parking space.

Furthermore, using visual displays in the form of dynamic LED signs for parking guidance enhances communication and allows operators to build revenue by adding advertising and informational messaging. By offering extra services such as smart guidance and informational messaging, customers can be incentivized to pay for said services, thereby increasing the parking revenue for parking operators.

Interested in learning more about smart city parking solutions? Click the button below to schedule a demo with a smart parking expert now.

Smart parking is an efficient and cost-effective system to monitor the availability of parking spaces in real-time. Technologies such as sensors and cameras detect free parking spaces and direct drivers to the most convenient spot via digital signage such as LED-displays. By leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, edge computing, and interconnectivity, the complexity of driving in a complicated environment is simplified.

Benefits of smart parking solutions

Smart parking solutions not only significantly minimize search traffic, but also help ease congestion in cities and reduce vehicle emissions. Finding a free parking space easily in an often-confusing commercial car park enhances customer experience, thus improving revenue. Simultaneously, parking operators and civic authorities can gather intelligent data on parking and customer habits that can be used to drive future infrastructure developments.

Generating data easily

Data is generated via in-ground sensors that have to be installed in each parking space or via Overhead sensors as developed by Cleverciti. The latter can be easily mounted on existing infrastructure such as lampposts or buildings and provide a comprehensive real-time overview of the occupancy status of up to 100 parking spaces per sensor.

Overhead sensors scan the vicinity and identify the position of a parked car or an empty parking space while also measuring the length of an available parking space and registering whether vehicles have been in an illegal space (e.g. in front of a fire hydrant or other no-parking zone).

The data gathered by these sensors is transmitted via cellular (LTE), Wi-Fi or wired Internet connection. The best smart parking solutions process data “at the edge”, which means the only data leaving the sensor itself is the GPS coordinates of a parking space and its availability. This approach ensures compliance with all the relevant data privacy regulations.

Real-time parking information

Relevant insights can then be passed on to drivers via a mobile application, website or digital signage. LED displays such as Cleverciti’s Circ360™ and Circ180™, both of which are multi-directional LED signs that can be installed on existing lampposts, show live parking information and messaging. 

Parking meters can be integrated into the system, showing parking operators whether time-limits are being observed.

See how smart parking works in a city environment in the video below:

Interested in learning more about smart city parking solutions? Click the button below to schedule a demo with a smart parking expert now.

There’s a lot of talk about smart parking these days. But what is Smart Parking exactly?

Smart parking describes parking management solutions geared towards assisting drivers to avoid circling around without information regarding available and occupied parking spaces. Reliable smart parking provides accurate data and immediate guidance, therefore reducing search traffic and vehicle emissions. 

Modern AI overhead sensors on lampposts, covering a large area of all types of outdoor spaces, provide real-time data that can be fed into mobile applications, websites, and local digital signage. In the past, magnetic field in-ground sensors have been used for marked parking bays. 

Real-time insights

Today’s smart parking solutions enable immediate and up-to-date detection of available parking spaces, helping to optimize on-street parking in urban areas or the use of surface parking at shopping malls, train stations, hospitals, and corporate campuses. In these surroundings, smart parking management aids in minimizing unnecessary driving in an already complicated environment while also reducing emissions and a waste of fuel and time.

Smart guidance for drivers, businesses, parking operators, and civic authorities

Smart parking is relevant for four main target groups: the general public, businesses, parking operators, and civic authorities. The average driver spends ten to twenty minutes looking for a parking space, which is not only a waste of time and a serious stressor but also has a negative environmental impact. Smart parking systems provide reliable guidance for drivers, thus simplifying their journey.

In business settings such as shopping centers and corporate offices, smart parking management can not only help improve the customer experience, thus increasing revenue, but also positively impact productivity. Less time spent looking for available parking spaces means less stressed and more productive employees. Dynamic LED displays used as part of smart parking systems can be mounted on existing infrastructure such as lampposts and are visible to drivers from any direction. They also offer the opportunity to build revenue by adding advertising and informational messaging. 

For parking operators, smart parking can provide valuable input on parking and customer habits, making it easier to enhance the customer experience and streamline parking management. In addition, smart parking enables parking operators to improve monitoring (for example, the appropriate use of dedicated zones such as handicap or delivery zones). Furthermore, the hourly or daily parking rates can be adjusted based on supply and demand.

In many cities around the world, civic authorities are trying to reduce emissions and the environmental impact cars are having on urban areas. By employing smart parking solutions, search traffic and therefore also emissions can be reduced significantly.  

In a larger context, smart parking solutions reduce traffic hazards and emissions, therefore contributing substantially to the quality of life in cities. These concepts are part of smart cities, where IT infrastructure is put into place and used to enhance the quality of life.

Real-life example: Cologne

In the German city of Cologne, smart parking has been put in place to reduce search traffic in one of the busiest districts, Cologne-Nippes. 360 degree LED displays at road intersections inform drivers where they can find parking in any direction and how many spaces are currently available. The data is also fed into a mobile application. Drivers no longer have to rely on sheer luck when looking for a parking spot, saving time and fuel as well as reducing emissions and noise pollution. 

To achieve this, a total of 89 Cleverciti Sensors monitoring approximately 890 parking spaces were installed on existing lampposts together with 27 Circ360™ LED displays, fitting seamlessly into the streetscape. By leveraging artificial intelligence, these solutions and technologies allow for a real-time overview of available parking spaces. 

Also watch the video below in which CEO Thomas Hohenacker explains what he believes is smart parking.

Interested in learning more about smart city parking solutions? Click the button below to schedule a demo with a smart parking expert now.

We are currently in an exciting time for the parking industry and parking managers specifically. Finally, technology is entering a space where, for a century, parking management has remained reasonably stagnant. The best part about it is that this technology is available to a range of organizations, not only the most elite shopping districts or enterprise business customers.

Whether through sensors, intelligent signage, or dynamic pricing, every parking manager can bring new technologies to push their entire parking organization forward. Read the 5 tips below to see how you can evolve your parking management.

1. Give yourself more (accurate) data

Data needs to be accurate and up-to-date to be useful. Parking managers can have a single person walk around the parking lot with a clipboard recording open and occupied spaces. Hypothetically, let’s say they cover the whole lot in an hour, reporting back that 207 out of 305 spaces are occupied, and even writing down which ones – does this help? The short answer: no. By the time that person returns to the office, any number of factors could change and the only information you would have is that in a specific time window, certain spots were now occupied.

Manual tracking is an out-of-date method. Today, technologies can automatically track which spaces are available and occupied, and report that back in real-time, keeping the parking management office always up to date throughout the day. These data are archived and can be analyzed to reveal valuable trends about which areas of the lot fill up first, when that happens, and how signage in the parking lot could best enhance a customer’s experience.

2. Give your patrons more data

Once you have this valuable mine of data, its value increases by sharing it. A business’s leadership certainly has a need and use for it, but the most value comes from exposing these data to the driver. Drivers spend several minutes searching for an available parking space near their desired location, before potentially having to give up and find parking further away (or just give up and go back home to order online). While the futile search is a shame, it’s also preventable. With smart parking guidance linked to real-time parking data, a driver knows upon entering the lot whether a spot is open nearby or not, and exactly where to find it. Whether they get their ideal space or have to drive a little further away, they have the benefit of not spending time, energy, or fuel looking in vain.

When a patron receives helpful, welcoming guidance upon their arrival, they begin their overall customer experience on a very positive note. This first impression helps the customer approach the rest of their experience with a positive, can-do approach, leading to higher revenues and higher return-visitor rates.

3. Improve your pricing

One of the best ways to improve your parking management is through further optimizing your pricing models, which is only possible once you have the right data. When you thoroughly understand your parking availability and trends throughout the day, week, or month, then you can discover new opportunities for pricing optimization. For instance, dynamic pricing models can vary the price of a parking space depending on demand – adjusted by an algorithm based on up-to-the-minute needs or pre-set prices for specific times. Or, spaces that are in higher demand could have higher pricing. The pricing for a parking area can be adjusted to maximize revenue and ensure that fill rates and revenues are maximized.

New technologies like the ClevercitiCard can even automate the arrival and payment process. A regular visitor can arrive with a ClevercitiCard in their vehicle, be guided to the nearest available space, and automatically charged just for the parking time they used. This service reduces another challenge in the parking industry: the confusion of how or where to pay. If an organization is bringing smart parking solutions to help shoppers quickly find a nearby space, it doesn’t make sense to have them locate a kiosk or double-check signs for hours of operation. Giving data directly to drivers eases their parking difficulties and shows a level of investment in their overall experience.

4. Manage from the cloud

Gone is the day when parking technologies were on isolated systems with no access from the outside world, forcing managers to be on-site to see the data they need, or making integrations with third-party systems complex and expensive. With modern, cloud-first technologies, data are now always accessible: from home or even the beach. When you want to add an innovative third party, you can now do so with a simple API integration – no astronomical costs or extra hardware required.

5. Do better for the community and the environment

Evolution is about the series of steps it takes to improve from a current iteration toward the ideal. Everyone should be more conscious about the impact our daily lives and processes have on climate change or the environment in general. Each individual person would probably like to drive less for the sake of convenience. Cutting out needless driving in the search for parking also diminishes the emissions that negatively impact the environment and contribute to climate change.

There are also two different ways to look at parking search and its impact on the environment: the grander sense of how emissions negatively affect the natural world but also how the unnecessary search for parking impacts people in the direct vicinity. Increased traffic means more noise and lower air quality for the people living and walking near parking areas. By taking steps to revolutionize the parking process, it lessens this impact. People living in these communities may have a more favorable view towards large businesses or districts that implement smart parking for the increase in living quality, and shoppers might find it more enjoyable to stroll in the area, potentially increasing shopping revenue.

With one simple step, you can help the businesses near your parking facility, improve the lives of shoppers and locals, and start making a positive change for the environment. All of these benefits come when you bring your parking organization into the 21st century.

At Cleverciti, we see a bright future. That outlook is directly in line with the impact we realize through reducing the search for parking, urban traffic and congestion to help eliminate the effects of climate change. As a company, we are always looking to the future to envision how we can create a positive change. We predict some smart trends for our environment, cities and the smart parking market in the next 12 months but we are excited to be part of a collaborative effort to address them.

Smart cities will rise

In 2019, there was a lot of buzz around the concept of “smart” or connected cities. And it wasn’t all talk. When we attended the Smart City Expo World Congress in November, we saw that there was an incredible amount of activity and interest from cities that want to incorporate intelligent technologies to build smarter environments. But there is a digital transformation that has to happen first. Smart city project ideas are broad, budgeting is complex, and sales cycles are long, but we predict that 2020 will be the year that more smart city projects will be deployed across the globe.

When a city aims to adopt smart trends, it’s often to improve the overall experience for visitors, residents and businesses alike. That’s precisely where smart parking fits in. Drivers that have a great experience finding parking are more likely to travel into the city or different neighborhoods to explore stores or restaurants. The residents that are walking the street can also breathe easier when cars aren’t circling the block looking for an open spot, producing needless emissions.

Parking will continue to be an uphill battle

We expect parking issues will get worse before smart parking trends get better. Although some areas are already implementing smart parking measures, most cities are experiencing significant population growth, which affects traffic, parking and air quality. Smart parking solutions help to alleviate these problems, but still won’t be deployed to the scale they should in 2020. As populations increase, causing more congestion and fewer available spots on average, the need for smart parking will become more apparent and residents will demand them — but it will take a few years for this convenience to catch on.

The difficulties associated with parking and urban congestion from increasing populations will get better in the future as more areas implement intelligent technology solutions. Additionally, these technologies can easily scale from that point on to further grow and change to fit the expanding needs of a business, city or other parking administration. While it may not be an immediate change, we are convinced there will be a very real, positive impact from smart parking at massive scale in nearly every city in the future.

The opportunity of ride-hailing services

The complexity of parking has propelled the popularity of ride-hailing services like Uber or Lyft. The use of these services is growing — a trend that will likely continue into 2020. However, while ride-hailing seems convenient for the user, it does not help the broader issues of traffic and urban congestion, excess emissions or parking availability. A driver still has to drive from their location to pick up the rider then take them to their destination — on average about 40% more distance driven. However, this transition to more ride-hailing presents opportunities for cities to repurpose existing parking assets to create mobility hubs and queuing areas. If ride-hailing services have real-time availability data of a nearby queuing area, they can improve their efficiency and reduce congestion and emissions.

Rich parking information also facilitates the use of public transportation. When smart parking is implemented at train stops, bus stations or parks and rides, users can know ahead of time which lots have space and which modes of transportation they can use. We have seen that when a driver knows in advance that they will be able to park at a station to use the train or bus, they are more likely to do so, consolidating the number of vehicles that traverse city streets.

Entering mainstream conversations

While consumers innately understand the parking challenges they face every day, awareness of smart parking solutions has been low in the general population. However, as consumers start to experience these smart trends firsthand in 2020, we expect consumers to start demanding them from their cities, shopping malls, office campuses, and other places they go each day.

No matter how these individual trends will shape next year and the years to come, Cleverciti is proud to be leading the way in helping cities to become smart by addressing parking issues, reducing vehicle congestion and cutting down on unnecessary emissions. We certainly see a bright future ahead.

Here we are: the biggest yearly spending event in retail is here off, with holiday shopping efforts in full force. But while consumers battle with their checkbooks, retailers are batting for consumers. You’ve likely noticed that the news is scattered with stories about big box stores closing while online retail giants, such as Amazon, continue to grow. In fact, consumers spent a whopping $126 billion online in the 2018 holiday shopping season.

An NPR poll brings insight to the online versus brick-and-mortar war that has ensued, featuring the top motivating factor to shopping online: speed (quickly followed by convenience). When you think about physically going to a store to shop, these factors are often diminished by one major element: parking. But what if retailers could leverage technology to both decrease the time shoppers spend searching for a space and provide a better customer experience? Could this help push customers to return to in-store shopping?

Our customers think so, based on the following benefits:

Speed

Research shows that finding a parking spot at a shopping center can take up to 12 minutes. Cleverciti’s smart parking technology can change that. Through a combination of real-time detection of available parking spaces and digital signage guiding drivers to open spots, the time required to park can be reduced by 30% or more. In a shopping mall with 1,000 parking spaces, this improvement can result in annual revenue gains of more than $4 million.

A positive impression

As the first and last memory of a shopping experience, streamlined parking is key to creating a satisfied customer. Take it from us: In July, Cleverciti finished installing its smart parking technology at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield’s Ruhr Park, Germany’s largest open-air shopping center with more than 2,600 parking spots. Known for their devotion to innovation and service, Ruhr Park’s executive team wanted to deliver extraordinary service, convenience, and a hassle-free parking experience for its clients.

Creating rewards

In addition to streamlining parking, Cleverciti’s newest technology, the Cleverciti Card, can be used to reserve parking spots in specified areas. Imagine VIP customers being able to reserve a space in advance, which not only maximizes their time spent shopping, but also provides additional data to the retailer regarding the most loyal and top-spending customers, allowing salespeople to know in advance of the arrival of their best customers. For years, brands have created loyalty programs with rewards, bonuses and discounts, and now parking can become part of these efforts.

Utilizing data

Cleverciti’s solution is more than just sensors. Using edge-computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT), the technology creates a unified and intelligent platform that provides customer and behavior data to retailers — something retailers are always craving. From the location of each parked car, to parking violations, to how long each shopper spends in the store, this information can help retailers learn about customer behavior, measure effects of marketing campaigns and plan more effective traffic patterns.

Reduced footprint

Consumers are starting to use purchasing power to get their messages and opinions across to businesses and brands, and we’re seeing this prominently when it comes to reducing emissions and global warming. A report by Nielsen found that 66% of consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable goods, so it is likely that they will also pick a shopping center that has actively chosen to reduce its carbon footprint.

Smart parking technology directly relates to this effort: when shoppers spend less time searching for an open space, they’re releasing fewer emissions into the air and therefore cutting down on pollution. Cleverciti’s mission to creating a sustainable environment can be key to showing consumers that retailers care about more than just the bottomline.

Brick-and-mortar retailers are at a tipping point when it comes to winning back the hearts of consumers, but this effort is all about providing a better experience for the consumer than their digital counterparts. Cleverciti’s smart parking technology can create a more efficient, rewarding and sustainable experience for shoppers while also providing mission-critical information to retailers to continually improve the guest experience.

To learn more about how Cleverciti’s technology can help your business, connect with our teams here.

We analyzed 634 smart parking solutions for smart cities. Cleverciti, Smart Parking, Parkwise, Stanley Robotics, and PayBySky are our 5 picks to watch out for. Learn more in our Global Startup Heat Map below.

Our innovation analysts recently looked into emerging technologies and up-and-coming startups working on solutions for smart cities. As there is a large number of startups working on a wide variety of solutions, we decided to share our insights with you. This time, we are taking a look at 5 promising smart parking solutions.

Heat map: 5 top smart parking startups

For our 5 top picks, we used a data-driven startup scouting approach to identify the most relevant solutions globally. The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights 5 interesting examples out of 634 relevant solutions. Depending on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely different.

Which companies develop the other 629 smart parking solutions?

CLEVERCITI – SMART SPACE-MONITORING PARKING SENSORS (SSMPS)

With a growing population in cities, parking lots often have a lack of free spaces. By using smart space-monitoring parking sensors and generating real-time data on parking-spot occupancy, drivers can navigate to the nearest open spot. Data collected from SSMPS can also be used for further optimization of city traffic and parking pricing policies. The same information can be used to maximize revenue by detecting overstays and directing more drivers to underused spaces. Cleverciti from Germany offers a sensor solution that systematically gathers information on available and occupied parking spaces in real-time. Each sensor covers up to 30 parking spaces, and they can be mounted on lamp posts, buildings or masts without requiring roadworks. It generates updated data every 3 seconds and has a night time mode as well – without the need for additional lighting or infrared.

SMART PARKING – SMART PAYMENT FOR PARKING

Drivers often get stuck in parking lots, chasing pay stations or spending a vast amount of time searching for change. Cashless payment solutions are reducing the time for payment and make the procedure more convenient for Smart City citizens. Parking lot owners and city utilities are benefiting from automatic mobile payments too, as they save money on parking pay stations. The single-click-to-pay technology developed by Smart Parking from Belgium supports over 250 worldwide payment methods that are used to substitute payment terminals on parking lots. Their API can be used with any existing Parking Management System.

PARKWISE – REAL-TIME PARKING GUIDANCE SOFTWARE

Searching for free parking spots oftentimes causes additional movements and traffic on the streets. Drivers leave one parking area and start looking for another one, without even knowing if parking slots are available. With the usage of the Internet of Things (IoT) and real-time parking guidance software, drivers are able to communicate with each other and find empty parking spots faster, thus reducing the chance of possible traffic jams. The US-based company Parkwise develops a phone application using artificial intelligence (AI), which connects drivers through their smartphones, so they are helping each other to find empty parking spots easier. Furthermore, when a driver is about to leave their parking spot, the application notifies other drivers about the free parking space.

STANLEY ROBOTICS – AUTOMATED VALET PARKING

In large crowded spaces, like airports or shopping malls, people more likely to spend a huge amount of time searching for free parking spaces. Automated valet parking systems allow drivers to leave their vehicles in a special spot, where a valet take over and park the vehicle tight, in an efficient way. Stan, the robotic valet, by the French company  Stanley Robotics, is able to control all types of cars, at a maximum length of 6m, and can easily handle a 3-ton load. The robot is equipped with artificial intelligence which allows it to optimize parking lot space. Stan moves autonomously and adapts to different obstacles that might be in its way.

PAYBYSKY – PARKING BY SATELLITE

Municipal authorities face the problem of privately owned vehicles that are occupying public spaces. One way to resolve this issue is to use accurate satellite vehicle positioning algorithms and a built-in database of parking locations, time, prices, and rules including exceptions. The UK-based PayBySky’s satellite services are starting and stopping parking transactions automatically, so drivers only pay for the minutes they use. As a virtual, cloud-based parking payment system, PayBySky is easily implemented by Smart City authorities to control parking revenue and collect parking data.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER 629 SOLUTIONS?

While we believe data is key to creating insights it can be easy to be overwhelmed by it. Our ambition is to create a comprehensive overview and provide actionable innovation intelligence for your Proof of Concept (PoC), partnership, or investment targets. The 5 startups showcased above are promising examples out of 634 we analyzed for this article.

Want to see how smart parking can work for you? Book a demo now:

A shopping trip to one’s favorite retailer should be full of excitement and fulfillment; whether gathering the week’s groceries, picking out new outfits or searching for upgraded appliances, a successful outing is typically an enjoyable time.

But because shopping can also be stressful, customers are always hoping to arrive at a location that provides a hassle-free experience. This can be impacted by a number of factors, with one occurring before even entering the facility: parking. It probably wouldn’t take long for someone to think of a store in their city that gives them a major headache when it comes to navigating its parking situation and finding an open spot in a timely manner.

Because there are often large amounts of people trying to enter and exit the establishment at the same time, it’s understandable that parking might be complicated — but it doesn’t have to be. Retailers can ensure a seamless parking experience for customers by leveraging intelligent solutions that simplify the parking management process and increase satisfaction.

Deploying these systems can enable parking managers to enhance operations through 4 key areas:

• Parking displays, such as Cleverciti’s CIRC360™, an omnidirectional floating LED sign, can be mounted on light posts to show live parking information and messaging. Customers can feel comfortable when they spot this kind of sign, knowing that the retailer cares about their parking experience and their ability to immediately access the facility.

• Innovative technologies that leverage the power of interconnectivity, edge computing, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things (IoT) can deliver real-time identification of free and occupied spaces within outdoor parking areas.

• Drivers are dynamically guided to the free parking spaces through an LED sign’s intuitive communication platform, easing the search while reducing environmental impact.

• Signage, such as CIRC360™, provides the opportunity for shopping centers to display marketing messages and paid media sponsorships that drive branding and visibility, as well as emergency notifications and public safety alerts to keep drivers informed.

Parking operators can also take advantage of smart parking solutions to increase revenue by gathering intelligent data on parking habits and trends, allowing the facility to use its parking space more efficiently and adjust pricing according to occupancy dynamics.

When customers contemplate a trip to the store, they’re likely to consider both the time they’ll be able to shop and how long it will take them to find a parking spot — and the latter should not end up taking over the equation. Parking operators at retailers must reduce the complexity of this process to improve the parking experience for everyone involved.

By providing a powerful combination of precise parking data and instant local guidance in a single solution, Cleverciti helps shopping centers ease their parking challenges and improve customer service. Learn more here about how shopping centers in Slovenia, Chicago and Germany benefit from Cleverciti’s technology, and find out how parking at your establishment can be transformed.

One of the biggest influencers when it comes to the way residents and visitors view a city and its infrastructure is the ease of travel and parking. Whether drivers are headed to work downtown on a Monday morning, touring the nightlife on a Friday evening or attending a weekend sports game, the desire to quickly and efficiently locate an open parking space is typically top of mind.

But this isn’t always easy, as various challenges make parking in a city complicated. Municipalities face the balance of wanting to keep residents happy while also providing a welcoming atmosphere to out-of-towners when an influx of traffic occurs. And as cities in the United States continue to grow — population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that San Antonio, Texas, adds more than 60 people a day on average — the parking process will only become more complex.

With the elimination of parking minimums popping up around the country, the key for cities in the United States becomes prioritizing smart parking management for the lots and garages that currently exist. There is an overabundance of spaces in numerous cities, such as New York and Philadelphia, but with improper and inefficient management, these critical assets quickly lose their value.

A crucial component that’s typically missing in today’s city parking environments is guidance. In a study conducted by the International Parking Institute in 2018, 43 percent of respondents said the demand for guidance systems to help drivers find parking was one of the top emerging trends in parking for the year.

By implementing an integrated, intelligent parking management solution, cities can guide drivers to the closest available parking space, rather than requiring them to circle around endlessly after being turned away at the nearest option. Real-time updates with reliable and live information captured from sensors on light posts facilitate intelligent parking decisions that are based on data, not luck.

This kind of parking management solution would be especially beneficial for a city when dealing with a major sporting event, such as the recent Super Bowl held in Atlanta. Ahead of the game, officials prepared for the remarkable amount of traffic expected, which included a possible 150,000 out-of-town guests and more than one million attendees during the 10-day span of events. Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport also saw a record-breaking number of passengers the day after the game.

A smart parking management solution would not only improve the flow of traffic for drivers who attended the game, but it would also provide operators with enhanced monitoring and insight into the various parking operations around the city. This would then enable officials to ensure the proper protocols are being followed and adjust aspects where necessary.

In order for cities to convey that they care about their residents and visitors, they must take into consideration today’s parking challenges and optimize the experience for all involved, which begins by leveraging a smart parking management solution. Learn more about how your city can benefit from Cleverciti’s technology.