Impact of Smart Parking on University Parking Occupancy

The adoption of smart parking systems (SPS) is transforming parking management across urban and academic settings by addressing issues such as parking inefficiencies and congestion. There is limited research, however, on the quantitative impact of SPS on parking occupancy patterns in university environments. This study bridges that gap by examining how a recently implemented SPS influenced parking utilization during peak times on a university campus, particularly in less-utilized lots. The research employed a year-long data set from August 2023 to July 2024 that captured daily occupancy trends. Occupancy patterns post-SPS implementation were compared with predicted trends, using a reverse time series approach and the XGBoost algorithm. Key features, including academic schedules and temporal fluctuations, were incorporated into the model to provide a nuanced analysis of user adaptation to the SPS. The findings revealed that SPS significantly increased parking occupancy, especially on weekdays, and redistributed demand to underutilized lots. The predictive model achieved a robust performance, with an R² score of 0.76 on the validation set, though it highlighted a learning gap during the beginning of the academic year. These results confirm the potential of SPS potential to optimize parking resources, reduce congestion, and enhance users' experiences. The results of this study will benefit university administrators, urban planners, and transportation policymakers by providing actionable insights into efficient parking management. Recommendations include refining predictive models with complete data coverage and integrating user feedback to further enhance SPS's impact. This work highlights the transformative role of technology in addressing complex parking challenges.