Sharjah motorists will soon be able to book parking slots via mobile phones

Sharjah will deploy artificial intelligence (AI) and smart applications to enable motorists to book parking spots through their mobile phones.

Sharjah City Municipality has teamed up with EVOTEQ, a UAE-based solutions provider, to launch a new AI solution to significantly improve the emirate’s parking management system, a statement said.

The Sharjah Smart Parking project, initially to be launched as a three-month pilot programme, will allow motorists to identify and reserve slots in specific parking lots through their phones. The pilot project will measure the success of the initiative before being rolled out across the emirate.

While parking spaces will be categorised – such as VIP spaces, the project will also introduce the first ever ‘priority parking’ concept for urgent needs. Priority parking payments will be set to encourage motorists to use the option only if required.

Smart transport platform solutions are also being considered for driver behaviour, traffic congestion and parking, the statement said.

“We are developing solutions that will establish Sharjah as a leading digital economy and smart city,” said Jihad Tayara, CEO, EVOTEQ.

“At the same time, we will be improving the quality and efficiency of systems to benefit the everyday lives of residents. A major part of that will be how we are reimagining the future of Sharjah’s transport management and catalysing new technologies to facilitate improvement.”

Last month, Sharjah announced up to 50 per cent discount on traffic fines, provided the fine settlements were made prior to January 31, 2020. Motorists would have their black points cancelled too, but the discount would only apply on penalties incurred before October 22.

Read: Sharjah offers motorists 50% discount on fines