Automating vehicle handling at the TPN parking lot
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This post is part of a larger article: AI in the service of heritage: Droplabs Dynamic Pricing and attendance prediction in shaping sustainable tourist behavior in Tatra National Park.
The challenge
The TPN parking complex and its access roads, the key gateway to Morskie Oko, have limited capacity and a limited number of parking spaces. Efficient, fast handling of arriving cars is vital not only for tourist comfort and safety but also for nature protection.
The parking facilities are a multi-element infrastructure. They include the main granite-paved parking lot at Palenica Białczańska, a complementary roadside lane between Palenica Białczańska and Łysa Polana, and a paved parking lot at Łysa Polana.
Synchronizing the online and on-site pool of spaces
To meet this challenge, TPN synchronized the pool of parking spaces between the online sales system (Droplabs) and the on-site sales system (Berg Regions) a few years ago, which is crucial for managing limited parking capacity. Tourists arrive mainly in the morning and stay until the afternoon, so the parking lot often fills up completely.
- The on-site system uses the Droplabs application programming interface (API) to retrieve the current number of available, unreserved spaces in real time. It blocks on-site ticket sales if all spaces have already been sold online. If spaces are available, parking staff can sell a ticket using a soft POS mobile app provided by the parking system. Thanks to the integration, this system automatically records each sale in the Droplabs online sales system, ensuring strict control over the available pool of spaces.
- In the afternoon, when tourists return from their hikes, departures begin. In the Palenica Białczańska section of the parking lot, every departing vehicle is automatically registered by the parking system, which immediately synchronizes the data with the online sales system. As a result, the available pool of spaces increases automatically, allowing tickets to be sold to drivers arriving later in the day.
Automating entry and exit
The next step was to automate the part of the parking lot closest to the trailhead, at Palenica Białczańska, where barriers were installed. This was critical for how quickly drivers could be let in.
- For the majority, i.e., online ticket holders (81-91% of traffic): A tourist buying a ticket online enters the vehicle's registration number during the purchase. Cameras at the entry and exit barriers automatically read the number plate of an approaching vehicle. The parking management system immediately checks with the online sales system whether there is a valid parking ticket for that registration number. If the check is successful, the vehicle enters and exits without operator involvement, and the parking system confirms to the sales system that the ticket has been used.
- For a minority, i.e., customers without an online ticket (9-19% of traffic): The parking system automatically checks the current booking status for the day with the online sales system:
- If the online system shows that the parking lot is fully booked by cars with advance online reservations, the barrier stays closed and the driver must turn around.
- If the automatic check shows that a space is available for a driver without a reservation, the process continues immediately: through the integration, the parking system reserves that space in the online sales system, keeping the pool of available spaces up to date across all channels. A fee is charged, a parking ticket linked to the registration number is issued, and the barrier opens. The parking system then records the ticket as used in the online sales system to prevent possible abuse.
In conclusion, automation has directly sped up visitor handling, which helps minimize exhaust emissions and noise from vehicles waiting to enter, benefiting the delicate Tatra ecosystem.
This post is part of a larger article: AI in the service of heritage: Droplabs Dynamic Pricing and attendance prediction in shaping sustainable tourist behavior in Tatra National Park.
