Effective trial of digital parking management system
In a significant stride towards modernizing traffic management, Baden-Württemberg, a state in Germany, has become the first to establish a legal basis for digital parking management. This new system, which came into effect in March 2025, is based on the Baden-Württemberg State Mobility Act.
The Hohenheim University pilot project, initiated in May 2025, serves as a testament to the efficiency of this new system. In comparison to traditional foot patrols, the digital control run took approximately an hour and a half, while foot patrols could take up to seven hours. This represents a roughly sixfold increase in control efficiency.
The scanning vehicle, a key component of this digital system, is designed to detect improperly parked vehicles, such as those parked in driveways or fire access routes without a valid parking permit. It captures the license plates of parked vehicles and compares them with actual parking permissions.
The Baden-Württemberg Parking Space Company (PBW) has been at the forefront of testing this entire digital parking management system in collaboration with DCX Innovations, a service provider commissioned by the Ministry of Transport. The necessary digital interfaces between parking ticket machines, camera data, and storage systems have been successfully created, allowing for future use by the PBW and municipalities.
Further model tests are planned in Heidelberg, Mannheim, Freiburg, and Waldshut-Tiengen. The success of these tests could pave the way for the nationwide implementation of digital parking management in Germany.
Europe has already been utilising the control of parking permits by scanning vehicles for years. Cities such as Hamburg, Munich, and Leipzig are currently conducting model tests for digital parking space control.
Digital parking management not only improves efficiency but also contributes to traffic safety by better enforcement of bike lanes, bus lanes, and absolute no-parking zones. Enforcing parking without a permit also promotes greater traffic fairness.
The process behind digital parking management ensures data protection through license plate encryption and the unrecognizability of persons. The data is deleted if parking is correct or after the completion of the administrative offense procedure.
According to the German Institute of Urban Affairs and the Accident Research of Insurers, approximately one in five inner-city accidents is related to stationary traffic. By ensuring proper parking, digital parking management could potentially reduce these statistics.
Moreover, the increased efficiency of the scanning vehicle compared to traditional methods relieves control personnel, allowing them to focus on other important traffic management tasks.
In summary, the implementation of digital parking management in Baden-Württemberg marks a significant step forward in modernising traffic management. The success of this pilot project could serve as a model for other states and countries to follow.
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