Utilization of Smart Parking Applications for Enhancing Efficiency and User Experience

Efficient parking management is a common challenge for university campuses, where high demand and limited space lead to prolonged search times, overcrowding, underutilized areas, and frequent violations. Smart parking technologies have been studied extensively in urban settings, yet despite the many challenges at universities, their application to this setting remains underexplored. This study addresses this gap by evaluating the impact of smart parking solutions on campus parking efficiency and user satisfaction. The study's objectives include identifying existing inefficiencies, assessing the effectiveness of smart technologies, and analyzing changes in user behavior and satisfaction. A two-phase methodology was employed that consisted of interviews with 19 participants before the smart technologies were implemented and 10 participants after they had been implemented, followed by a comparative analysis to evaluate the app's impact. The findings indicated that the smart parking application significantly improved parking outcomes. Users reported that search times decreased by nearly 50%, congestion in central lots was alleviated and utilization of peripheral lots increased, permit-related violations dropped significantly, and user satisfaction scores rose from 4.5 to 7.2 out of 10. The participants also reported behavioral changes, including shifts in parking lot preferences and arrival times, which contributed to a more balanced distribution of parking utilization. They also, however, noted occasional discrepancies in real-time data and minor technical glitches, which indicated a need for improvement. This research will benefit university administrators, smart mobility developers, and urban planners seeking sustainable parking solutions.