Japanese Parking Lots Accept Contactless Payment
July 12, 2008
Japanese parking lot operators are beginning to accept contactless payments as card issuers continue to try to make inroads in Japan’s cash-based consumer economy. More and more pay-by-hour lots are accepting payment via contactless cards or mobile phones equipped with contactless chips, according to the Nikkei news service. Nippon Parking Development Co., which runs about 100 lots in Tokyo and elsewhere in Japan, will accept iD, the contactless credit brand launched by mobile network operator NTT DoCoMo and credit card company Sumitomo Mitsui, the Nikkei report says. Another parking-lot operator, Park 24 Co., accepts three contactless electronic purses: Edy, Suica e-money and PiTaPa. The latter two e-purses are mainly used to cover transit fares in and around Tokyo and Osaka, respectively. Overall, Japanese consumers make more than 90% of their purchases in cash, according to DoCoMo estimates. To capture a piece of this market, card issuers are supporting a total of five major brands of contactless credit and electronic-cash programs, with more on the way. Consumers can make contactless payments at thousands of convenience stores and other merchant locations, but few of the card-reading terminals are interoperable, which threatens to confuse consumers. Masao Nakamura, president of DoCoMo, told the Nikkei Marketing Journal this week that his company is now working on a contactless point-of-sale terminal that can accept all three brands of contactless credit in Japan.
Source:Â http://www.n-p-d.co.jp/en/index.html
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Parking in Rome
June 28, 2008
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In the centre of Rome, only permanent (certified) residents are allow to park in the streets, and they find it too extremely difficult to find a parking place. Even for them, it is harder than winning a prize in a lottery. You would be frustated all the time to find a parking place, and the police will most certainly confiscate your car and you will need to go through a lot of paperworks, rounds in various offices, and heavy fines to have it back. Currently, the Municipality made this a big business, so it is next to impossible to get away with it. In addition, you should also consider the security issue, i.e. the possible theft of petty thieves etc. Only a minority of historical, mannerly palaces (of very wealthy people) and monumental, renaissance palaces (seat of Ministries, Institutions, or Museums etc.) have parking lots or garages. They are consequently out of reach. There are only two public garages in the centre where you could park your car, but they are situated not in really highly central areas. The nearest is beneath the Borghese Gardens (address: Via del Galoppatoio), the other is just in front of Termini, Rome’s main train station, and it is run by ACI (Italian Automobile Association). They are both expensive (no less than 30-35 Euro per day, IE no less than 47-55 US$ currently). It also takes normally a rather long walk or short taxi ride (from all other central quarters), to go back and forth to these garages. Another solution is parking the car at the long term parking facility of Rome’s Fiumicino-Leonardo da Vinci’s airport, 38 km from town. The cost is appr. 10 Euro per day. Besides the reasonable cost, it is easy to find when driving to Rome from the all the motorways reaching the town. You could commute to and from the apartment with the dedicated train connecting the airport to the main train station Termini (cost appr. 9 Euro per person, time: 35 minutes), or you can also use our car service, which you can book beforehand.
Last, and probably least, is parking in your hotel, but only the large Americanized hotels far from the centre have such facilities.Other than the above, there are no other solutions.We recommend that you forget about using a car when visiting Rome. Besides, traffic is chaotic, circulation nightmarish (since the old days, as Ben Hur acknowledged…), and moreover it is allowed only to special license holders in some areas, or subject to circulations restraints. You would be frustated all the time. Above all, Rome’s centre is a gigantic maze, many sights can be reached and appreciated only by walking through little alleys and along a complicated urban layout.The bottom line: when in Rome… go around on foot and public tranport, as all clever and savvy visitors of Rome do (unless you come to Rome on purpose seeking a nervous breakdown). If you will stay in the centre, all the sights will be more or less near you, at walking distance, or reachable with short metro/bus/taxi ride (quite well organized in the Eternal City). |
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Cesena Automatic Underground Parking System, Italy
June 16, 2008
CarparkingNewIndia:The late 1990s saw the first commercial installation of a brand new, completely automated parking system. TREVIPARK was a new construction and engineering development that provided an alternative parking system ideally suited for use in inner city and urban settings. The TREVIPARK system solves many of the traditional problems associated with urban parking; congestion, pollution, land space, security; through the installation of compact, circular, underground silos that optimise space, are easily installed, and are completely automatic. The first installation of this modular, automated parking system was in Cesena, Italy. The local authorities sought a parking solution that would minimize interference in the surrounding area, both to underground utilities and existing overland structures. The compact TREVIPARK system offered a number of features that led to its approval by the Italian authorities. These included automatic parking without the driver; vehicle parking utilising a 360° vertical, rotating lift placing vehicles directly into a parking bay; average parking and retrieval time of 50 seconds; and high security. Due to its compact design it could be placed in close proximity to existing buildings in the town centre. The garage holds up to 108 vehicles.
AUTOMATED, UNDERGROUND PARKING SYSTEM
The design for Cesena was chosen for it innovative use of space and its structural strength; the circular nature of the TREVIPARK system is integral to the vertical lifting device which operates under uniform dimensions throughout, gives optimal area containment, and creates an extremely strong structure that will resist deformation under stress. Drivers stop their vehicles on a parking lane. After exiting the vehicle and inserting a card at an automatic telling machine the system, through multiple sensors, performs various security and height checks and then conveys the vehicle to the lift. From here the lift descends, rotates and transfers the vehicle into an available parking bay. Drivers can retrieve their vehicles using the same card at the exit point.
CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION
The underground parking ‘silo’ is a reinforced concrete cylinder. This continuous concrete diaphragm wall is 18.8m internal diameter. The silo is up to nine levels deep. Each level is 2.3m in height. The internal parking stalls are constructed from pre-cast reinforced concrete. They are radially placed around the perimeter of the cylinder to receive 12 vehicles on each tier. The lift structure occupies the centre of the cylinder. It features a rotating steel tower with car-lift and an automated trolley for vehicle deposit and retrieval. The lift moves vertically while rotating simultaneously to deliver vehicles to the parking stalls. Electro-mechanical and electronic devices and sensors are an important feature to check for movement of any cars during transit. The only above ground construction is a pylon for receiving magnetic parking cards.
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT AND SAFETY
Due to its reduced entry and exit bay sizes and automatic operation TREVIPARK offers a number of environmental advantages over conventional parking systems. This includes reduced energy consumption, air and noise pollution. Its compact construction allows for minimal impact on existing architecture and road systems. It fits in with existing structures without being a concrete eyesore. The system is very user friendly and safety is heightened by its automatic operation. There is no reason for anybody but system technicians to enter the underground levels. The system also features advanced fire-fighting, anti-flood, ventilation and security systems that are computer controlled and constantly monitored by a control centre. OTHER INSTALLATIONS To date there are nine systems that are operational across Europe. Currently systems are being constructed in Stockholm, Turin and Rome. Systems are subject to planning permission in London and Copenhagen. Following the initial Cesena installation of two silos, four subsequent silos have been installed with a total of 312 spaces. Design features are also variable; underground levels range from one to nine, optional kiosks for sheltered and secure waiting areas can also be incorporated into any design. The underground structure can also be used as part of the foundation system for any above ground structures built on top of the car park. TREVIPARK can also be built as an over ground car-parking facility.
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Loading bay for the underground parking system in the Piazza Fabbri, Cesena, Italy. |
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The TREVIPARK system solves many of the traditional problems associated with urban parking; congestion, pollution, land space and security. |
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The underground parking ‘silo’ is a continuous, reinforced concrete, diaphragm cylinder, 18.8m internal diameter. |
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The internal parking stalls were constructed from pre-cast reinforced concrete and radially placed around the perimeter of the cylinder to receive 12 vehicles on each tier. |
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Compact construction was minimally invasive to surrounding structures. |
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The lift structure occupies the centre of the cylinder. It features a rotating steel tower with car-lift and an automated trolley for vehicle deposit and retrieval. |
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