In the recent times, many countries have undergone rapid economic growth, this consequently has led to increasing in disposable income being received by the people and thus many people are buying vehicles for personal and commercial use leading to a very vast rise of vehicles in the road.
In recent year, it has been noted that the highest number of vehicles on the road are passenger vehicles and luggage carrier cars; the others recording the smallest number. The growth in the number of vehicles has led to a lot of problems in the parking industry in many of the growing countries in recent years. This has been contributed more by lack of enough parking systems for drivers. Each institution makes its parking private.
The parking management system is a system which is specifically modified for parking which provides parking information for parking business owners or providers and drivers in a particular area of jurisdiction. The information is acquired through monitoring of traffic continuously.
Software and hardware devices, for example, the sensors, cameras, automatic gates, and meters are what makes up the parking management system and all work as one body to ensure a good flow of traffic and ensures that security is very good in parking areas.
Apart from that it saves time in a finding of parking slots since some residential areas and working places does not provide parking areas for their workers or tenants due to high population and some slots available are very small for the very high number of vehicles in the country. The system also provides a basis for keeping records of parking by business people who provide parking thus reducing the problem of record keeping in the industry and the security of information.
Construction
The construction methods, requirements, and specifications of this system vary from organization to organization. The system under construction may either be very large, normal size or very small according to the needs of the users or the organization developing the system. The size may also differ due to the financial capability of the organization.
Organizations should strive to solve the parking problems of the whole organization since the individual solution will not solve the problem in any way. A good Parking management system is very important for every country since it saves on time for finding slots for parking and also enhances customer satisfaction for parking providers.
Features/components of the parking management system
1. Parking management software- the software provides information and reports which are very useful for the management; it also manages slots for parking. Moreover, the parking facility is monitored and regulated by the software.
2. Parking guidance system- as per the name, it guides drivers to the parking space available for parking.
3. Automated access control system- this is an automated gate(hardware) which is usually installed at the entrance of each parking slot with components like; bollards, blockers, arm barriers and smart identification technologies to allow or deny access to parking areas to help in complete automation of the car park management system.
4. Parking reserving barriers- it is very useful in reserving parking slots by installing barriers which regulate and restrict vehicles access by the help of control devices.
5. Statistical reporting software- parking is usually done according to time frames; each time frame with specified prices, for example, an hour, a day a week or even a month. This system provides all this information for the management of the organization which will help them in budgeting and also decision making.
6. Security analysis- this system analyses security needs, issues, the sensitivity of the parking facility, and security of the user equipment so as to be used to provide secure parking services. Some of the security measures are CCTV, s, Automated Plate Recognition Readers (ANPR) systems, and biometric readers.
7. Vehicle counting in real time- for efficient allocation of parking slots, all information of vehicles in the parking slots are displayed.
8. Automated Ticketing systems- this system has an automatic ticket system, which is programmed according to the rules and requirements of the client. The payment system is also integrated to it with ticket dispenser for easier and efficient services.
Advantages of parking management system
1. The parking management system is easy to manage because it is well organized in a structured manner
2. Superior technology has been used to make the system against all threats and according to customer needs
3. The parking management system is very easy to maintain
4. It is also more secure since its security features are very good and cannot be compromised by any threat
5. It is also very cheap to obtain an effective parking management system
6. Parking is easy and efficient when you use the system
Disadvantages
1. Redundant systems may be expensive if used
2. New users may get confused using it
3. Sometimes the system breaks down
4. Maintaining it requires a supplier and a contract
