The electronic parking permit is celebrating an anniversary: November 2015 marked the beginning of a pilot phase for an electronic parking sticker in Vienna. Together with the responsible municipal district office, Schreiner PrinTrust developed the requisite ((rfid))-Parking Chip for on-street parking. A little less than a year later, the parking permit enabling police officers to automatically and conveniently identify the permit from the outside of a car using a corresponding reader, was rolled out in all districts of Vienna.

Using a corresponding reader, the permit is read in a contactless process from a distance of a few meters, which massively reduces the inspection effort. Thanks to RFID technology, the ((rfid))-Parking Chips can be read without line of sight. The sticker is applied to the inside of the windshield in the upper right-hand corner.

Multiple Permits and Reusability

Scratching off stickers when they had to be returned, used to pose a problem. Due to the modern RFID chip, every vehicle owner can use it for his or her permits—even after moving to another district or selling the car—because the chip also enables reading of multiple permits. Only an identification number is stored on the chip, but no personal details. “It’s strictly this number and no other data,” says Irene Krasa-Oppolzer, Head of the Magistrate District for the 4th/5th District. “That’s why there are no concerns about privacy protection.” This number is retrieved by the readers used by law enforcement officers and matched with a database in which only the license number, vehicle model, scope of application and period of validity are stored.

Less Administration

Due to the electronic parking stickers based on Schreiner PrinTrust’s ((rfid))-Windshield Labels Global, the administrative effort has been reduced for the city of Vienna, the inspectors and the vehicle owners. The sticker has proven its viability in several years of use: “One of its many benefits: The ((rfid))-Windshield Label is applied only once,” says Krasa-Oppolzer. “When the validity of the sticker is extended, the old one no longer has to be scratched off and replaced with a new one. It can remain on the windshield for years and should last as long as the vehicle’s lifetime. As a result, we’re able to process requests for extensions more efficiently and economically.”

Dr. Kai Schnapauff, Director of Schreiner Prin- Trust, is pleased with the outcome: “The project has been a great success right from the beginning. At the moment, we’re delighted to implement a technical upgrade to the latest chip generation and a new visual design for the city of Vienna.”