HeiTech Padu executive vice-president Abdul Halim showing the parking sensor for each lot.
GEORGE TOWN: Scratching parking coupons will soon be a thing of the past as an advanced parking system will soon replace the conventional coupon system at all council parking spaces in Penang.
The Penang Smart Parking System, which will be implemented in August this year, will see the use of a mobile phone application using e-wallet as its payment mechanism at 36,000 lots throughout Penang.
Parking sensors will also be installed at each parking lot to monitor the entry and exit of vehicles.
HeiTech Padu Berhad is the project’s appointed technology service provider.
Executive vice-president Abdul Halim Md Lassim said the project would start with the first phase on a trial run at about 1,000 parking lots here and in Bukit Mertajam.
“The first phase which involves 1,000 lots with equipped sensors will start in August this year while the second phase is expected to be completed by January 2020,” he said here last Thursday.
“The system is the first of its kind in the country to harness the Internet of Things, IR4.0 and cloud computing technology with navigation system and online payment system.
“This system will allow drivers in Penang to be directed towards available parking spaces based on real-time information,” he said.
“It will also enhance enforcement by reducing parking violations and leakage in revenue through the system’s dashboard with monitoring by the local government.”
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Penang would be the first state in the country to implement such a system complete with parking sensors in individual lots at all state-run public car parks.
“The public will need to merely download and use the app to get to their desired parking lots at the different public car parks.
“The app sends real-time information to the equipped sensors at the lots, allowing drivers to know if a space is occupied even before they head there.
“If the parking lots in the area are full, the system will provide them the next closest parking alternatives in that area.”
He said the system would be implemented at all 12,000 lots under the Penang Island City Council and 24,000 lots under the Seberang Prai Municipal Council.
The RM24mil smart parking project is one of the ongoing smart initiatives in Penang which include Smart Traffic Analytics and Terragraph System, BDA project for Disaster Management and Terragraph POC Project, Smart City of Penang and Smart Bus Stops.
State Housing, Local Government, Town and Rural Development Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said the application for the Penang Smart Parking System could be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple App Store after the launch of the first phase in August.
Penang Island mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the parking rate on the island would remain at 80 sen per hour, while Seberang Prai Municipal Council president Datuk Rozali Mohamud confirmed that the rate on the mainland would stay at 40 sen per hour.
