Deutsche Telekom takes on smart parking project in Hamburg

German operator Deutsche Telekom started to install a new network of sensors on parking spaces in downtown Hamburg, in Germany. The telco said that these sensors will allow uses to see free downtown parking facilities through a smartphone device. The service will be available on Deutsche Telekom’s Park and Joy app, which has been available since 2017 but initially focused on paying for parking. The app was upgraded this month to include a new functionality that helps users to find empty parking spaces, the telco said. The first 100 connected parking sensors are now being installed in the Wandsbek district, with up to 11,000 sensors planned in the entire Hamburg downtown area through the end of 2019. “Residents and the city administration benefit from digital services such as our parking app. We spend an average 20 minutes looking for a parking space. This clogs up roads and increases exhaust emissions in the city center. Here we aim to provide a solution with Park and Joy,” said Oliver Bahns, head of Connected Mobility at T-Systems. “Other major cities are also set to benefit from the new service. The aim is to make the app usable throughout Germany.” Cities looking to roll out the digital parking management system this year in partnership with Deutsche Telekom include Bonn, Darmstadt, Dortmund, Duisburg, Hagen and Moers.