AutoPark uses fixed cameras and ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) technology, reading vehicles’ number plates as they enter or exit a car park – even in challenging weather conditions.
Once the number plate has been read and recognised, the system checks whether the vehicle has a valid parking permit. If not, the system automatically starts working out the parking charge. When the vehicle later leaves the car park, the number plate is read again, allowing the time spent in the car park and the parking charge to be calculated.
One of the major advantages of the AutoPark system is that it eliminates the need for physical parking tickets and infrastructure such as entry or exit barriers. The fact that drivers can drive straight into the car park without having to stop or get out of their vehicle improves traffic flow on site.
When leaving the car park, drivers can simply pay for parking using a payment machine on site, a parking app or a website. If a driver doesn’t use any of these payment options, the period of parking is added to an invoice list in the PEZ customer-handling system, which is integrated with AutoPark. This allows the car-park operator to see the amount due, an image of the vehicle and other useful information, making it easy to issue and send an invoice.
