Changeable Message Signs (CMS) or Variable Message Signs (VMS) are becoming a key component of smart parking solutions deployed around the world. But do drivers trust the information on the signs?
A study done by Susan Shaheen and Charlene Kemmerer from the Transportation Sustainability Research Center of the University of California at Berkeley has documented a trust issue specifically regarding CMS displaying parking availability data. The focus of the study was a smart parking deployment for Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, California.
The study reports that there was “a fair amount of mistrust about the accuracy of the signs. Participants feared the empty parking spots would be filled before they arrived at the station, even though they could call to reserve a spot as soon as they saw a sign.”
Shaheen and Kemmerer say the mistrust of signs could possibly be attributed to drivers’ inexperience with the new technology. If this is the case, then familiarity might alleviate this issue over time.
But what if the signs simply are not accurate, and the mistrust is based on reality? In the case of the BART study, the group maintaining the signs was also responsible for counting the cars coming in and out of the lot, so presumably accuracy was relatively high.
In cases where third-party lot operators are providing availability data on their own parking lots to government authorities that are responsible for the signs, however, accuracy may be questionable.
CMS/VMS can be an important element of smart parking deployments that help urban areas alleviate congestion and reduce emissions caused by drivers searching for parking. However, there seems to be a confidence issue – and a potential accuracy issue -- that must be solved before these types of technology are truly effective.
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