City-centre parking can be a chore at the best of times, but Bosch has come up with a solution that could help to ease the pain a little.
This week’s video takes a look at Bosch’s new Active Parking Lot Managment system. Drivers can search for a parking space before they begin their journey, and be guided to their destination by a smartphone app. Additional services such as cash-less payment can also be integrated.
I would like to know where Bosch get their data from. According to their website, “About one-third of the traffic volume in city centers is caused by cars searching for parking space. Drivers drive around, on an average, 4.5 kilometers searching for a place to park.” This is a very broad statement and is very unlikely to apply to all city centres. Their claim that all of this 30% of trafffic could be eliminated if they all use a mobile phone app to find parking is based on too many assumptions. Firstly, there needs to be enough available spaces to accommodate all that traffic. 2nd, everyone must have a smartphone with internet access (3G,4G). 3rd, You’ll need to reserve the space you want or someone else will take it (more cost?). 4th, drivers won’t be happy to use any parking space (everyone has differing requirements – price, size of bay, ease of access, inside or out, near to shops, etc.). There are instances where drivers park inconsiderately, using up two spaces, or the size is only suitable for small cars. The reality is that this system might reduce traffic but only by a fraction. There is no incentive for car parks to install it, unless they want to offer a premium service with reservation costs etc. in which case you could do that now with existing technology. Shopping centers don’t want to lose potential customers by letting them know before hand that there is no parking available. They would get more shoppers by letting them queue to wait for a space.
Raif’s comment is the most appropriate: “get a bike!”
Did not Bosch supply the clever NOx fiddle to VW?
I wonder where we will finish up if we use their parking technology!
@RKP The negatives seem few compared to the positives.
Any parking lot without such a system in place will be at a disadvantage and even if you can’t reserve a place it’s good to know that there are places available and where they are.
the ‘parkopedia’ app already does most of this.