Each year, Danes pay millions of kroner in parking fines. However, now a new system from OnePark aims to put a stop to the dreaded 500 kroner ticket fee, ensuring you only pay for the time you’ve parked.
The system will be introduced to the Danish market on Thursday 4 June, and it has so far been met with an overwhelmingly positive reaction, according to OnePark’s head of communications, Claus Kjøngerskov.
If everything goes to plan following Thursday’s release, the OnePark system will be installed over the next half year at hospital, airport and shopping centre car-parks across the country.
A relatively simple system
The OnePark systems works as follows:
– Every vehicle is recorded by a camera that reads the number plate at both the entrance and exit of the car park or parking garage. Therefore, there is no need for a parking dial or a ticket on the windshield.
– Before exiting the parking lot, the system recognises your licence plate number and calculates the fee. The system recognises the vehicle’s arrival time, and also the parking duration. In this way, the payment can also be combined with a period of free parking by simple deduction.
– If you forget to settle before leaving the parking lot, you can pay on the OnePark website for no extra cost. If you do not pay within 48 hours, you will receive an invoice for the cost of parking, plus an administration fee. However, this cost is still significantly lower than a parking ticket.
“AutoPay ensures you do not pay for time that you have not used, and you are not at risk of returning late to your car and getting a control fee,” Kjøngerskov said in a press release.
Positive progress
The OnePark system has already been tested in a number of Norwegian shopping centres, where the response has been positive. Customers spend more time at the centre because they do not have to worry about parking expiration, which impacts positively on the shopping centre’s turnover, as well as overall customer experience.
“Parking ticket fees reflect poorly on those who own and operate a property – for example, a shopping centre. I’m sure the system will be mutually beneficial, as customers learn they are not at risk of being hit by a control fee,” said Kjøngerskov.
OnePark ensures that its cameras and software have been refined to read number plates in all sorts of weather conditions.
