The city of Munich plans to digitally monitor public parking spaces. To this end, scancars – vehicles equipped with cameras – will capture license plates of cars parked in no-stopping zones or without a valid parking ticket. Anyone caught without a valid parking permit will receive a fine by mail. This also applies to vehicles parked on sidewalks and bike paths.
A legal basis for electronic parking surveillance has been in place in Germany since early July. Abroad, for example in Amsterdam, the technology is already in use. In Heidelberg, a pilot project has been running since last autumn, which the state government of Baden-Württemberg considers a success: the scanning vehicles recorded twelve times as many cars as foot patrols and worked more cost-effectively. The system automatically compares license plates with stored parking permits, signage and parking space data – the data is encrypted.
However, the technology still has weaknesses: paper disability badges placed on the dashboard are not recognized by the scancar. In the future, electronic chips in the badges are expected to solve this problem. Until then, city employees must continue to manually check parking permits. Hamburg also began electronic checks in two test areas this week; the city is upgrading parking ticket machines so that drivers can enter their license plates – paper tickets are to be phased out.
In Munich, the rollout will take a bit longer. According to a spokesperson for the mobility department, the city is currently networking with other interested municipalities to leverage synergies. “Independently of this, pilot projects are being planned to test digital parking surveillance in preparation,” the spokesperson said. A prerequisite is that parking tickets and permits can be evaluated digitally.
Source: www.sueddeutsche.de
