Citation
(2002), "Mobile parking", Work Study, Vol. 51 No. 6. https://doi.org/10.1108/ws.2002.07951fab.005
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2002, MCB UP Limited
Mobile parking
Mobile parking
Ericsson and Hull City Council have launched a scheme that enables local citizens to pay for car parking using their mobile phones. Believed to be the first of its kind in the UK, the trial scheme was launched in April 2002 and has just finished. The trial involved 200 local citizens. The cashless parking solution fits in with Hull's mission to become one of Europe's top ten digital cities by 2005, as benchmarked by the EU.
When entering one of the ten surface car parks within the pilot project, users contacted the cashless parking system with their mobile phone by either voice or WAP command. They then entered the time, their car registration number and duration of stay, and the parking fees were automatically added to their telephone bill.
Attendants could also send drivers SMS messages if, for example, they had left car windows open or a car alarm had been activated. (By sending SMS messages when parking time is about to expire, the council can reduce the costs and administration involved in issuing parking fines.) Similarly, drivers do not need to return to their cars to purchase a new ticket – it can be done remotely by simply pressing a few keys on the mobile phone.
We will have to wait for the full evaluation, but the scheme looks like a useful attempt to marry technology with real need for improved service – and it shows the range of new applications that arise from "personal" technologies.