The agreement will allow for the introduction of automatic number plate recognition and digital payment in Barcelona's small and medium-sized car parks
SMOU already provides users with information on the location and services of more than 300 car parks belonging to the Gremi de Garatges de Barcelona i Província, and for 100 of these, it also provides real-time information on available spaces
SMOU, the personal mobility service App, is moving forward with its commitment to support the digitalisation of the city’s car parks and contribute to better planned and more sustainable mobility. A new agreement with the Gremi de Garatges de Barcelona i Província will allow for the introduction of this BSM App as a payment method for pay-as-you-go parking in car parks operated by other providers. The alliance will particularly benefit small and medium-sized car parks, as it allows them to offer digital payment options.
Specifically, the features to be introduced in the Gremi de Garatges car parks include automatic number plate recognition for access and digital payment for pay-as-you-go parking. Until now, SMOU only offered these features in the BSM network of car parks, the largest network in the city with a total of 44 car parks.
For over a year, SMOU has also provided information on the location and services of more than 300 car parks belonging to the Gremi de Garatges and for 100 of these, it offers real-time information on available spaces.
For Ricard Barrera, the BSM representative in the Gremi de Garatges, “the partnership between SMOU and the Gremi de Garatges de Barcelona i Província is an example of how public private partnership helps tackle the major challenges of urban mobility. Barcelona is a compact city and car parks are essential for freeing up public space. Everything that facilitates and streamlines their use helps to make car journeys more efficient, with better planned routes and less time spent looking for a parking space.
For the president of the Gremi de Garatges de Barcelona i Província, Xavier Ferrer, “the agreement highlights the guild’s innovative spirit and the collective ambition to foster public-private collaboration. Car parks are looking to the future and we will play a key role in urban mobility. The alliance with SMOU is a step towards the digital transformation of our sector”.
More than 600 car parks in the Guild
The Gremi de Garatges de Barcelona i Província has 460 affiliated car parks in the city and more than 600 if we include those in other towns in the Metropolitan Area. These facilities have capacity for around 120,000 vehicles, with a total of 2.6 million square metres that are, in the majority of cases, accessible 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
SMOU, the leading personal-mobility services app in Barcelona and the metropolitan area
SMOU has 1.5 million users and is available in Barcelona and 14 other towns in the metropolitan area. The BSM app features personal mobility solutions such as pay-as-you-go parking in car parks, the management of AREA parking spaces for residents, Bicing and Endolla Barcelona.
It also provides information on bike sharing, car sharing and scooter sharing services; information on public transport stations and timetables, including a route planner; and a taxi service that allows users to book and pay for rides. Last year, Smou recorded a total of 22.5 million uses.
