What is a parking guidance system?
A parking guidance system leads arriving vehicles to free spaces. It has two parts: the detection that counts or measures how many spaces are free, and the display that makes that knowledge visible.
Static and dynamic systems differ. Static means fixed signs point the way to a site without knowing how full it is. Dynamic means displays name the number of free spaces and change continuously.
Inside a multi-storey car park, dynamic systems often use a sensor above every bay and coloured lights. On open sites a count at the entrances is usually enough.
What does a parking guidance system cost?
Price depends on how finely you measure. Counting at the entrances needs few devices. A sensor above every bay needs as many devices as there are bays – plus cabling, displays and the software behind them.
Construction adds to it: masts, foundations, power supplies and data lines. On an open site that is the larger item, not the technology itself.
Maintenance, calibration and replacing broken displays run on. A system that counts wrongly loses its point fast: anyone who drives to a site reported as free and finds nothing will not believe the display next time.
Questions about parking guidance systems.
- What does a parking guidance system cost?
- There is no flat figure. What decides it is whether you count at the entrances or record every bay individually – between those lies the difference between a few devices and one device per bay. Building masts, foundations and lines comes on top.
- What is the difference between static and dynamic?
- A static system only points the way without knowing the occupancy. A dynamic system counts along and shows how many spaces are free. Only the dynamic one keeps someone from heading for a full site.
- Do I need a guidance system for a single site?
- Rarely. The benefit arises where several sites compete and vehicles would otherwise circle in search. For a single site with one entrance, a display at the entrance is usually enough.
- Can a guidance system spot unauthorised parkers?
- No. It counts vehicles, it does not identify them. Who is entitled and who is not stays open. That needs a record per vehicle, for instance via the number plate.
- Can the two be combined?
- Yes. Licence plate recognition at the entrances supplies the occupancy figure a display needs. Anyone already managing or monitoring a site gets the count without extra sensors.
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