Disclaimer

This document is only collection of author’s notes, experiences and point of views. It is not, in any meaning, either complete description of the topic nor official RTB documentation. It may be inaccurate, incomplete, obsolete, misleading or completely wrong. It may even cause loss of data or damage system integrity. It may not comply with company codex, values, presentation style or economic interests or may reveal company secrets.

As such, it is absolutely prohibited to distribute this document outside of RTB & Co. GmbH. Such an action may result into legal acts against both the sender and the company. It is only intended, after review of technical and presentational correctness and accuracy, to be used as an information source for official documentation.

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Glossary

parking operator

owner of parking machines or parking place.

PDM

our product.

user

person who wants to park and is forced to buy a parking permit.

vault

user’s account managed by RTB.

voucher

pre-payed card with unique number, which can be used for vault charging or parking payment. The idea is the same as for pre-paid cards, which can be bought to re-charge various services like mobile phone credit. See chapter Voucher.

Preface

This document describes possibility of variable parking (Fixed time, Real time, Extension, Mobile phone). The aim is to reduce dependency on external banks or payment providers to reduce mediator’s fees, re-use existing card readers and without necessity to add new hardware. Ideas here extend concept which was presented earlier (Local Pre-payed Accounts) and combines it with smart phone.

We want to sell PDMs and do not have any possibility to add new hardware like NFC reader. Therefore some other techniques has to be used.

The document covers only top level ideas and not implementation details.

1. General solution

There are some new elements, which we have not had so far and which need to be briefly clarified.

1.1. Voucher

Idea of voucher is similar to pre-paid cards which are used for loading credit to various pre-payed services like mobile phones. It can be bought at PDM for money (charging by voucher) or it can be a result or returning money back to the user (Real time parking).

Voucher is actually promise of future services. The money has been already taken from user and transferred to the account of parking operator. But the user has not get any services yet. From this point of view, is voucher equal to money. Therefore it can be used as such. It must be also possible to change it for money at some place in the town, which issued it ( Discharging money).

voucher
Figure 1. Example voucher

When user obtains the voucher he can used it either by next payment instead of money or he can use it to increase balance in his vault. This can be done by typing the code to smart phone or scanning the QR code.

Before the voucher can be use, it is validated on server. Only vouchers issued by our PDMs can be used. Vouchers are not transferable to the other town because money are already at parking operator’s bank account.

1.2. Account

Every user may create an account by us. Account helps him to better control parking ticket and make extensions. He can has to store his license plate number there, to be able to extend permits more comfortable.

Every account is connected with vault to store money.

1.3. Vault

Vault is something like electronic wallet, where user can store money returned back to him. He can also re-charge it eighter directly from PDM or indirectly using voucher. Of course he can use money stored there to buy parking time.

Vault has multiple sections, one for each town. It is necessary to distinguish between towns, because money has been already paid, on account of towns' parking operator.

1.4. Smart phone

Smart phone is used to control Account and Vault. It is also used to connect bought parking permits with account.

1.4.1. Permit connection

In most cases there is no keyboard on PDM, to enter license plate, which would normally be used to connect parking ticket and user. To overcome the problem we can use QR code to connect parking ticket and user. Every parking ticket will contain a unique QR code, which user can scan and connect parking ticket with his account. After that, he can control parking time and payment using his smart phone.

Of course, in this case the parking ticket which is placed in the car may became invalid. Control officer must verify LPN to be able to verify parking legitimacy, because user can extend parking permit any time. In such a case it is necessary to use our enforcement API.

1.5. Money flow

As it is suggested earlier a standard payment mechanisms - money (coins, card, and banknotes) will be used to pay the parking time. Additionally every user can have its own Vault, accessible via Smart phone, which can be used for paying parking time and returning unused part of payed money back. The advantage is, that using this vault, brings no additional costs for parking operator.

RTB does not possess any money any time during transactions. If user pays, the full amount goes always at bank account of parking operator. RTB only keeps track how much has been already spent and how much is promise of future services.

Money can freely flow between card / coins, vault, voucher and selling according diagram below.

money flow
Figure 2. Supported money flow

2. Selling methods

2.1. Fixed time

This is basic method which we support now. User has to know how much he wants to pay.

2.1.1. Direct payment

User gets parking time based on amount of inserted money.

2.1.2. Mixed payment

If PDM contains keyboard, then the user may use also mixed payment (currency, vault, voucher) to pay the amount by following steps.

mix payment
Figure 3. Mixed payment

Keyboard can be used to either enter user’s identification or vouches’s code. PDM will offer the user selection of primary payment source. If there is not enough money on it, PDM offer selection of next source.

User may connect ticket to be able to modify it without PDM.

2.1.3. Smart phone sale

User can also buy ticket directly in smart phone. In such a case there is no ticket behind front window. Parking permit is connected with his license plate.

2.2. Permit extension

Extension of existing permit can be done using several ways.

2.2.1. Direct payment

This is standard use case.

  1. User comes to PDM.

  2. Enters ticket number.

  3. Insert money.

  4. PDM extends parking time by printing new parking ticket.

2.2.2. Smart phone

User can use Smart phone to extend a ticket. In such a case, money from his vault will be used.

  1. User finds required ticket in smart phone.

  2. He extends parking time.

In such a case is extension bound with his license plate and must be verified online.

2.3. Real time parking

User may start real time parking either on PDM or by smart phone. By real-time parking is recommended to use license plate to simplify enforcement. It is easier when enforcement officer validate license plate online instead of validating ticket number. Nevertheless it would be also possible to validate parking ticket number.

2.3.1. PDM

If user starts parking on PDM he will get a ticket with maximal parking time and maximal amount of money will be charged. When he finishes parking he enters ticket code and he will get Voucher with rest amount. Rest amount can be also transferred online to Vault if PDM supports it (keyboard for authentication is installed). User returned unused time for refund.

2.3.2. Smart phone

If user starts parking from mobile phone, his stay is bound with license plate. There is no ticket. Maximal amount of money is booked from Vault. At the end of stay, the rest of money is returned to Vault.

2.3.3. Combination

Use may start on PDM and connect permit with smart phone. He may finish parking session there.

He may also start in smart phone and finish parking session on PDM.

2.3.4. Conversion

There is also possibility to convert standard ticket to real time parking. Use case:

  1. User buys standard parking ticket.

  2. User scans its code and express intention to convert it to real time parking. Bought parking time is used as maximal parking time.

  3. When user finises parking he use one of the possibilities above, to finish it.

  4. User gests money back (via vault or voucher) for unused time.

3. Charging money

User wants to increase amount of money in his vault without buying parking permit. There are tow ways possible.

3.1. Online

It there is a keyboard on PDM, user can load his vault directly.

  1. User express intention to charge his vault.

  2. He enters a code got from smart phone to authenticate itself.

  3. He inserts money and his account will be recharged on-line.

3.2. Voucher

If there is no keyboard on PDM, user can load his account by printing charging Voucher.

  1. On PDM user express intention to charge his vault.

  2. He inserts money and get voucher ticket, which contains unique code (as text and QR code).

  3. When he wants to recharge his account he either re-type code to smart phone or scan QR code.

The charging voucher is not bound with any user. It is transferrable to somebody else. It must not be necessarily used by these who bought it.

4. Stacked bank note

Sometimes it happens that PDM is not able to return back a bank note, which has been already taken into bank note acceptor. There are some technical reasons which are out of scope of this article.

Nevertheless in this case we could also use Voucher. It offers more security then just a pice of paper. Voucher has its own unique number, which can be verified. The other advantage is, that user can use it directly for consuming future services in the same way as he would use money.

5. Discharging money

If user wants to leave this system, there has to be a possibility to withdraw his Vault and Vouchers and exchange them back to money. Parking operator is responsible to provide this service. We will provide some API to make it possible.