The shift towards electric vehicles (EVs) has gained considerable momentum in the past couple of years. As more individuals and businesses embrace sustainable transportation options, the demand for EV charging infrastructure has surged. Consequently, the need for efficient management of EV parking spaces within car parks has become increasingly critical.
An EV Parking Bay Detection Solution addresses this pressing need by leveraging technology to accurately identify and allocate parking spots equipped with charging stations for electric vehicles.
Hikvision’s new Electric Vehicle Bay Parking Violation Detection Solution addresses the changing nature of parking enforcement in a modern environment where Electric Vehicle use is the fastest-growing segment in transportation. This solution not only enhances convenience for EV owners but also optimises space utilisation, promotes sustainable mobility, and contributes to the overall advancement of smart city initiatives.
Alongside the increase in EVs has come an increase in EV parking bays, where drivers are able to leave their cars charging while shopping, or commuting, and many times they can also re-charge them. These bays allow car park owners and managers to provide an attractive and convenient reason for EV owners to use their facilities. Hence the importance to keep these spaces for the right vehicles.
Hikvision’s new Electric Vehicle Bay Parking Violation Detection Solution has been designed to address this issue and the changing nature of parking enforcement. Its development was prompted by the specific needs of car park operators, who had been seeking a solution which addressed this pain point.
“This is an exciting new development for car park operators,” says Justin Hollis, Public Affairs Director for Hikvision UK & Ireland. “EV parking bays are an increasingly important feature of all car parks, providing an added incentive for electric vehicle owners to use those facilities.
“But without a system like this one, operators are forced to rely on patrols to issue violation notifications when a non-electric vehicle is parked in an EV space. That takes time, uses resources and is inefficient. Because it’s inefficient, it means many violators could go unnoticed, which is in turn frustrating for the EV drivers who want to use that space for its intended purpose.
The EV Bay Parking Solution monitors EV bays and checks vehicle number plates with DVLA records to ensure that any car parked in the space is a genuine electric vehicle. If a non-electric vehicle is detected in the space for longer than a pre-specified time threshold, an alert is raised, evidence in the form of images showing the length of time the vehicle has been in the space is generated, and parking violation system ZatPark automatically issues a ticket.
Hollis points out, “Our EV Bay solution streamlines the process through two key integrations: with the DVLA to confirm whether or not a vehicle is indeed an EV; and with our new partner ZatPark, specialists in providing highly efficient parking violation enforcement services.
“We’re excited to introduce this solution to the market. We believe it’ll be extremely attractive to private and local authority car park operators.”
The solution can include Automatic Number Plate Detection cameras at the car park entrance and exit. Registered vehicles can enter automatically; the entrance barrier is linked to the camera and opens when a registered vehicle is detected.
When a non-registered vehicle approaches, manual entry from the control centre is required. If a blacklisted vehicle approaches the entrance, an alarm is generated and the barrier remains closed.
The system generates entry and exit records, which are searchable and can be used to create reports.
Once the vehicle is inside the car park, guidance cameras with LED indicators show drivers where there are spaces available in different areas of the facility – green showing that there are bays available, red for fully-occupied spaces. Users can program up to seven different LED colours as required.
The guidance camera offers ANPR detection upon parking and leaving the bay.
For operators, the system provides a visualised floor plan with parking records for each bay, including number plate, parking time and duration.
Setting up the EV Bay Parking Solution is straightforward. Using Hikvision’s management software HikCentral, the guidance cameras can be set to EV Bay Monitoring Mode. This allows the camera to detect the time and plate number when a vehicle parks in the bay.
HikCentral then compares the plate number to the records in the DVLA database. If the vehicle is not registered as an EV, HikCentral sends a notification to the ZatPark system with evidence, including the detection time, plate number and full picture of the vehicle in the bay. The solution can be configured so that there is a specified time period when a non-electric vehicle is in the space before a violation is detected – 10 minutes, for example. If this threshold is exceeded, HikCentral sends a second piece of photographic evidence to ZatPark, showing that the vehicle has been in the space for that length of time.
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