Smart card project

Smart Card Project for Parking, fuel and other services related to one vehicle

Introduction:
This project looks into possibility of creating centralised IT system for parking places across UK. The purpose is to create unified card system by which users can pay for the parking slot they are using. Also this card expands beyond council owned parking slots. This project will enable usage of private car parks across country. This card is inspired by smart card implementations across the world. These smart cards are made up of RFID tag and can store data inside it. This card is also intended to use for multiple services related to the vehicle for example automated petrol station payment.

One example of smart card implementation in UK is Oyster card for Transport for London.

How parking ticketing system works in UK?

It varies from place to place and council to council but majority of them can be divided into 2 categories:

A) Road side parking: You park your vehicle, go to ticket machine, insert coins into machine. Get ticket for specific timeframe (2 hours, 4 hours etc). Display this ticket in your car dashboard. If you are running out of time, come back enter more coins and get another ticket. Mostly you pay in 1 hour slot and you should know how long you will park. Traffic warden keep watch on all vehicles parked and issue penalty ticket if you run over time. Penalty ticket issued is very harsh and it is common belief that council makes more money from penalty than parking places.

B) Major parking facilities: typically these places are at airports, major shopping centres and exhibition centres. Whole section of building is reserved for parking. While entering into facilities get a ticket. when you are moving out of parking facility pay at ticket machine. Mostly you pay in 1 hour slot, but you pay while going out, so you don’t need to guess how long you need parking. There are no traffic wardens and no penalty tickets but you need to have cash to pay for these facilities.

Following is snap shot of this project.

I am seeking to get this project off the ground if any one with enough influence ready to get involve into it.

1. Project description

   • This project is intended to make smart card, which can be used to pay for multiple services related to one vehicle.

2. Applies to:

   • Parking spaces across UK both council owned and privately owned.

   • Pay congestion charge

   • Pay petrol station bills quickly

   • Pay motorway toll

3. Disadvantages of current manual system

   • Parking spaces council owned

     • You need to carry sufficient change with you all the time. Most of the time people are penalized because they went to nearby shops for getting change

     • You have to specify how long you need parking space in number of hours. Even if you use it for less time, you do not get any reimbursement. In practical world most of the people do not know how much time they will be using. If they go for meeting, and meeting goes beyond time limit, either you get penalty or you have to quit meeting even if it is very important

   • Parking spaces privately owned

     • Carry sufficient change all the time. It is difficult task.

   • Petrol stations

     • After filling petrol in vehicle, most of people have to queue in the paying booth. It is more time consuming. During rush hour it is difficult proposition. Because people are inside queuing for paying bills, other people are queuing for filling petrol. It becomes time consuming.

4. Advantages of new system for users

   • No need to carry change all the time. Get statement of charges for all the services at the end of month. Money is already deducted from your account.

   • Pay as you go parking. Pay for only number of minutes you parked, not for number of minutes you did not.

   • Use parking space as much as you want, you don’t need to quit from meeting just because your parking ticket is running out of time.

   • Don’t pay £80 penalty for £1 parking ticket

   • Pay congestion charge at any petrol station or points from where you might enter into congestion zone.

   • Pay motorway toll faster, it also goes from your account.

   • Pay MOT at servicing station.

   • Can be even used for paying penalty, if you make mistake.

   • For businesses it is very useful as sales people do not need to carry change or keep tickets for record, they can concentrate on their work. End of the month statement for whole month will be issued to company, (if it’s company car/vehicle). This statement is easy for accounts purpose to calculate expenses, they do not need to maintain congestion charge receipts, parking receipts, motorway toll receipts and petrol expenses receipts separately.

5. Advantages for council, private car park owners and other bodies

   • Reduce number of traffic attendants, save money

   • Reduce money collection point and overhead of collecting change

   • The parking ticket collection points become victim of vandalism.

   • Money will be directly collected to main centre in electronic format which will be credited at end of the month to council account

   • Petrol station can reduce number of people queuing at station to fill petrol. During night, automated petrol stations can be operated.

   • Different business logics can be built in to the system. For example in few shopping parking places, it is allowed to use first 2 hours free. More than that penalty is imposed. It can be converted into high value parking charges for example £10 per hour.

6. How it works

   • Card known as smart card can be issued to every vehicle owner. This card can be used for services related to one vehicle only

   • Card can be connected to bank account, debit card or credit card. Card can be top-up by using pay point.

   • Card will look and function like it does in oyster card does. Oyster card is used by London transport for paying ticket.

   • Start entry of parking is made through placing card on reader and pressing IN button. When user goes away, he has to place card on reader and press OUT button. Amount of parking will be calculated based on number of minutes used and amount to be charged per minute. Multiple business logics can be used to encourage or discourage people from using parking place for long time.

   • If user forgets to make OUT entry, he will be charged till end of the day or maximum time allowed using that parking place. User can also specify maximum number of hours he will stay at that parking place, this will automatically take him out of calculation after maximum number of hours, unless he makes OUT entry.

   • Private parking where entry gate and exit gate are different, it is easy operation. While entering user will just touch card on reader and enter. While exiting he will use same way and his parking charges will be calculated based on difference between both.

   • In few business complexes, they have registered members who can park in parking place free whereas visitors should pay or pay after staying for more than specified period. In such cases after making IN entry, it will start calculating charges and based charges summary it will charge on card. Same logic can be used at places like stadium, superstores, government buildings etc.

   • Disable people can have special privilege in their card, which can help them to enter at any parking, places even if it is only for members.

   • At petrol station, after filling petrol, just place card on reader, it will charge on smart card and issue receipt for the charges.

7. Traffic attendant

   • Traffic attendant can check for list of users in that parking lot by taking list of vehicles parked at that time, then manually verifying them with parked vehicles, if vehicle is found without entry, they will be penalised. Such possibilities will be less compared to current system.

8. Ease of use

   • Card is very easy to use. It should be just touched on the card reader, which will read it. Card is durable and does not carry any magnetic tape, interfering signals etc. Failure of it not working is very less

   • If you forget your card, just enter combination of “vehicle registration number” and “card number” that’s it!

   • card is allocated to one vehicle only, so if its lost, it cannot be used by another vehicle. Allocating one card for each vehicle makes it easy to use, as user does not need to enter vehicle number at places.

9. Technology

   • Hardware

     • Card and its reader can be custom built for the requirement. It is compact and durable. At the same time it should be reliable. Current technologies available like RFID are good enough.

     • Card reader can be connected to server available in the area by using wire or wirelessly. LCD screen to show status of the card, list of vehicles currently entered etc. IN, OUT, MAX (maximum stay) buttons can be used.

   • Software

     • Card will have its Unique ID connected to vehicle registration number

     • Card reader will have its unique ID, which will help server to calculate charges.

     • Collection done at particular point will be connected to agent. Agent can be council, private parking owners or petrol station owner. One agent may own one smart card point or multiple points.

     • Every agent will get statement of collection done in a month with detailed list. Agent will also get cheque of collection done.

     • Card will be connected to bank account by debit card, direct debit, credit card or top-up. Based on mode selected, it will deduct amount charged instantaneously. Statement for the charges occurred till month end will be sent to user.

     • If late payment arrangements are done with business owners, payment can be collected at end of the month.

10. Commercial viability/advantages

    • Customer satisfaction

      • Council or government authorities charge heavy penalties on users. Most of them feel victimized. Also there is trend of collecting more money from users by means of penalties. This can be avoided.

      • Private parking owners do not need to maintain costly system; they can rent one for their places.

11. Timeframe for implementation (yet to work out).

12. Stake of partners

    • “Smart card company” can keep % of overall transaction as service charge. They can also charge rent for readers, which covers maintenance and cost of those readers. Bulk users may go away with less rental depending on transaction.