The airport professional's source for airport industry news, articles, events, and careers.
Issue link: http://airportbusiness.epubxp.com/i/311874
PARKING TECH 28 airportbusiness May 2014 space and then pay for the parking when you actually use it. All fees are paid up-front." The airport integrated the new online parking registration system with license plate recognition technology so that the two systems could work in tandem with each other. The online parking regis- tration system requires passengers to enter their vehicle license plate number upon registration. The license plate recognition system compares this plate number to the registration database as customers drive up to the parking lot or garage entrance. The gate opens automatically if the sys- tem finds space booked under that plate number. The license plate recognition system is extremely accurate, reports Codd, noting he believes the country's standardization of its license plate designs helps improve accuracy. "We have very high conversion rates, above 95 percent in terms of reads," says Codd. "It's a really great system for us." The parking garages and lots already employed a parking revenue control system, but the technology needed an update to inte- grate with the new system. The airport installed high-tech barriers and pay-on-foot machines that accept cash and credit in all of its parking areas. These changes allowed them to automate the fee-collection system. They converted the transaction process in stages to address concerns that customers would not utilize airport parking if COMMON QUESTIONS ABOUT DUBLIN'S VIRTUAL CARPARK f How far in advance can customers book? They can book their spots up to six months in advance of their planned trip. The minimum stay is 24 hours while the maximum is 90 days. f Are customers guaranteed a specific parking spot? Customers cannot reserve a specific parking space. Pre-booking of parking online ensures there will be a parking space available at the specific lot or garage when they need it. However, the commercial park- ing marketing team has developed high-end products that allow customers to park in specific spaces at an executive car park, one with less than 100 spaces, near the airport entrance. f What if passengers enter the parking lot then have to leave because they forgot something? If passengers leave the parking lot, the transaction ends. They will then need to pay the drive-up fee when they return to the lot. f What if passengers are gone longer than expected? As passengers go to leave, the parking system reads their license plate, checks the pre-booking file, and calculates the duration of their stay. If they have over-stayed, the system establishes that an additional fee is due. Passengers need to pay the difference as they exit using their credit card. f What if passengers need to cancel reservations? Passengers can cancel their booking up to six hours before their date of travel and they'll receive a full refund. "We wanted to do that because we didn't want passengers to be afraid to pre-book online," says Colm Codd, head of business development at the Dublin Airport Authority, where he oversees the International Parking Advisory, Commercial and Concession Services Business Unit. Dublin Airport passengers can save up to 50 percent by booking their parking online. airb_26-29_ParkingTech.indd 28 5/2/14 9:52 AM