300 more HDB car parks to be automated by mid-2015

SINGAPORE — About half the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) 1,800 car parks will be automated when the Electronic Parking System (EPS) is installed at another 300 of them by the first half of next year, said the HDB yesterday in an update of its scheme to automate its car parks progressively.

As for car parks where there are site constraints, the HDB said it will harness other technology to improve operations.

First rolled out in HDB car parks in 2004, the EPS has “proven to be convenient for motorists and effective in regulating parking demand, particularly at popular car parks with higher short-term parking demand”, said the HDB in a press release yesterday.

To optimise the use of parking spaces at its car parks, the HDB added that it was also progressively putting in place an enhanced version of the EPS.

The enhanced system will see more parking spots being made available for visitors during non-peak periods when season-parking ticket-holders are out in the day. In the evening, however, fewer parking spaces will be available for visitors to cater for season-parking ticket-holders who are returning home.

The enhanced EPS has been implemented at 440, or about 72 per cent, of the 610 car parks that have the EPS installed. The remaining 170 EPS car parks will be progressively fitted with the improved system.

In July, the HDB rolled out real-time information about the availability of parking spaces via its Mobile@HDB app to help motorists find short-term parking spots in EPS-equipped HDB car parks.

Since Dec 15, information about the availability of parking spaces in HDB car parks has also been made available on the public data-sharing portal http://www.data.gov.sg.