TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — New Taipei City will launch a new smart parking service on Friday (March 1) in four of its most populous districts to assist drivers with locating roadside parking spots on some of the city’s busiest stretches of road.

The service will utilize 3,471 geomagnetic sensors installed along 122 stretches of roadway in Banqiao, Yonghe, Zhonghe and Xindian Districts, according to a press release. The sensors will be linked to a publicly available online database to indicate where open parking spaces are available.

The “New Taipei Street Parking Inquiry Service” will be accessible through a main website run by the Department of Transportation. The service is also linked to two smartphone applications; the Parking There app and the Parking Lot app.



Drivers will be able to pay the parking fees through various mobile payment methods. Payments can be made automatically by linking one’s app profile to their smartphone’s telecommunications provider.

Alternatively, users can use the QR code on their payment slip, which can then be paid online through their smartphone or taken to a convenience store or supermarket to be paid in cash. For drivers that use spaces without linking their phone and vehicle to the smart network, cameras located along the street where the sensors are installed will allow the city to identify and bill drivers via mail, based on their vehicle’s registration information.

The New Taipei Department of Transportation considers the service to be a pilot program that it hopes to expand throughout New Taipei as it develops into a 21st-century “smart city.”

Some of the sensors are located in spaces where legal parking is restricted to certain hours of the day, or must be limited to brief stops. In these areas, the service will assist the city with rapidly issuing fines for people who leave their vehicles in areas where parking is strictly monitored.

The city hopes the smart “Street Parking Inquiry Service” will make driving in New Taipei more convenient for drivers, while also contributing to a smoother flow of traffic in the city’s most crowded areas. To promote the system and increase the turnover rate, the first five minutes of parking in spaces connected to the network will be free for the first few weeks of operation.

A driver uses his phone to pay a parking fee. (New Taipei City Department of Transportation photo)