Munich The future of car parking has already begun in the Munich suburb of Neuhausen where Germany's first automatic underground parking system has gone into service. Drivers who live locally pay 71 euros a month (95 dollars) for the privilege of being able to park outside the front door without having to constantly hunt for a vacant lot or manoeuvre in and out of tight spaces, reports the country's largest motoring organisation, the ADAC.
Drivers stop the car on a parking lane at the entrance booth to the garage, vacate the vehicle and insert a card into an automatic telling machine. In response to a transponder chip in the card, a range of safety and height checks are carried out before a robot trolley conveys the vehicle to one of four underground storage levels. A total of 284 bays are on hand.
To retrieve the car, the driver simply inserts his card at the paying station and the vehicle is located via its transponder chip before being brought to the surface. The whole process is said to take an average of two minutes.
City officials say the under-street parking system reduces congestion and air pollution for local residents in a part of Munich where parking spaces are scarce. The facility was also cheaper to build than a conventional multi-storey either above or below ground since it does away with the need for passenger lifts, ramps, stairways, lighting and ventilation systems.
