The ‘jaga keretas’ of the old days at carparks are rarely seen these days with automation having taken over and companies offering carpark management services. In most places, especially in shopping malls and office complexes, a motorist usually has to take a ticket (or use an electronic payment card) to gain entry into the carpark. When exiting, payment has to be made prior to departure, either at payment machines or at the departure point. The process requires a bit of time to complete – take ticket and wait for barrier to be raised – and in some places with high traffic volumes, congestion can be an issue.
A smoother, faster way in and out
The Sunway Group aims to make the process smoother with Sunway Smart Parking system which will be introduced at its properties in Sunway City, Subang Jaya, Selangor, during the first quarter of 2020. At present, the system is already offered to season parkers at the various properties which include Sunway Pyramid, Sunway Hotels and Menara Sunway.
With Sunway Smart Parking, drivers do not need to retrieve and pay using a parking ticket when they enter and exit. Instead, a key element of the system will enable them to just drive up to the barrier and then continue when it raises. This element is the License Plate Recognition (LPR) system which uses technology provided by JIESHUN, a company in China with 6 years of experience in automated carpark management.
Motorists just need to register their vehicle registration number (and provide some personal details) through the Sunway Parking portal. When registered with the system, their vehicle numberplates will be scanned by the LPR system and if it is in the system the barrier will lift to allow entry.
95% recognition rate for numberplates
According to a representative from the company providing the LPR technology (which has 6 years of experience in the field), the recognition rate is 95%, compared to 99.7% in China. The recognition rate can be improved over time as more samples are obtained for the database although in time, the level of enforcement regarding numberplates should also be more stringent.
The second part of the fully integrated Smart Parking system is the extensive methods of payment available to motorists. From the outset, Sunway has already established partnerships with GrabPay, Boost, WeChat Pay, Alipay, Touch’NGo Digital, and Maybank QR along with credit/debit cards such as MasterCard, Visa, American Express, JCB, UnionPay, and MyDebit.
All these e-wallets and credit/debit cards can be linked to the vehicle so departure is as hassle-free as entry as the parking fee will be automatically deducted. It would also be possible to do it the ‘old-fashioned’ way by paying with the ‘king’ – cash – at machines.
The cashless and ticketless parking experience is part of Sunway’s digitalisation journey to enable hassle-free experiences for its shoppers. Sunway Smart Parking will also reduce the carbon footprint of shoppers, in line with Sunway’s commitment to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
“We are pushing forth on our digitalisation journey. With revolutionary technology, we want to continue introducing new seamless, exciting shopping experiences to our shoppers to enable hassle-free experiences with greater convenience. From our comprehensive award-winning Sunway Pyramid Mobile app with real-time navigation to this new parking system, we will continue to give our shoppers more reasons to choose us as their preferred lifestyle destination,” said H.C. Chan, CEO of Sunway Malls & Theme Parks.
Security and parking capacity
On the issue of security – a car thief can just drive a car out if all that is required is for the numberplate to be verified – the Smart Parking system has a LOCK feature to prevent this. The owner of the vehicle can manually activate this when required and the vehicle will not be allowed to exit.
It is commendable that Sunway is introducing the Smart Parking convenience for motorists using its carparks. Howver, there is still the frustration of finding a parking space. It’s the capacity issue which has limits, but Mr. Chan said that the company will keep working on reducing the frustrations for motorists through more efficient management of its 10,000 carpark spaces currently available.
While the Smart Parking system will only commence next year, motorists who register their vehicle registration numbers during the pre-registration period will get the chance to enjoy one-time free parking when the system is operational. More information can be found at www.sunwaypyramid.com/smartparking or by calling 03-7494 3185.
