Is Smart Parking Private or State-Owned?
2 Answers
Smart parking is state-owned. The parking spaces for smart parking are demarcated by the state, and the traffic police brigade under the Traffic Police Bureau manages illegal parking, while parking companies uniformly handle fee collection. Smart parking primarily involves converting originally free blue parking spaces into paid parking spaces marked with white lines and yellow berth numbers. The parking fees for smart parking are relatively high, and there are instances of arbitrary charges. Additionally, there are cases where the entry and exit images do not match the same vehicle. Moreover, on some two-way roads, one lane is converted into paid parking spaces, obstructing normal traffic flow for motor vehicles. Smart Parking: Smart parking refers to the integrated application of wireless communication technology, mobile terminal technology, GPS positioning technology, and GIS technology in the collection, management, query, reservation, and navigation services of urban parking spaces. It achieves real-time updates, queries, reservations, and integrated navigation services for parking space resources, maximizing parking space utilization, optimizing parking lot profits, and enhancing parking services for vehicle owners. Functions of Smart Parking: The 'smart' aspect of smart parking is reflected in: 'intelligent parking space finding + automatic parking fee payment.' It serves vehicle owners in daily parking, staggered-time parking, parking space rental, automotive aftermarket services, reverse vehicle finding, and parking space navigation.
I was really curious about the smart parking system I used at the mall once. It actually feels more like a public-private partnership. The hardware, like cameras and sensors, is usually developed and installed by tech companies—I’ve worked with a startup that specializes in license plate recognition, for example. But the parking lots are mostly planned by the government, and roadside parking spaces are designated by traffic authorities. When it comes to payment, platforms like WeChat Pay and Alipay handle the transactions, but the pricing standards have to be approved by the pricing bureau. Nowadays, it’s more common for new residential complexes to purchase full-service packages from private companies, while municipal roads are more complicated—I heard in Shenzhen, the government tenders contracts to private operators. At the end of the day, the technology belongs to companies, but the management authority lies with the state. When you use it, you can’t even tell who’s running things behind the scenes.