Expert: digitisation and private parking are main challenges for Italian cities

Did you ever wonder how the parking situation looks like in Italy? Our friends from TTS Italia had the same question and asked Fabio Mosconi, president of AIPARK, the Italian Association of Parking and Mobility Operators, which represents a sector that operates with its members in more than 250 Italian cities, serving a population of over 22.000.000 citizens. 

Mr. Mosconi emphasised that the two main challenges in Italy are the high percentage of public parking spaces and the lack of digitisation of enforcement procedures. Around 60% of all parking spots are on public space, whereas just 40% are on private land. In comparison to other European countries, Italy has one of the highest occupancy of public (curbside) parking.

Furthermore, the Mediterranean country is lacking about 650.000 parking spaces, according to Mosconi. Whereas one should take into consideration that he represents the parking operators, he nevertheless emphasizes that public space should be freed up for shared (micro-) mobility.

Enforcement of parking legislation is the second significant issue that is being tackled in Milan with a new system that enables enforcers to scan numberplates and process the occurring parking tickets digitally. Fabio Mosconi emphasised: ‘ Milan is an example: we have completely digitized the parking with the license plate as a distinctive element. Not only for payments but together for the issue of permits and for carrying out checks’. This digitisation processes are the only logical way towards integrating parking into a smart city concept.

We recommend you to read the full interview here.