Sustainable urban mobility
Digital access, exit and payment solutions
Saba Ticketless in 2023
76
car parks
+156
operations
+40%
active customers
Among the advantages of number plate recognition, is the improvement in the flow of access to and exit from the car park (especially relevant in facilities that register a large influx of vehicles at peak times), as well as the possibility of getting to know the customer better and promoting new loyalty programmes. Offering the best customer service by making parking even easier.
The customer who chooses number plate recognition will enjoy additional advantages, such as the possibility of reviewing their stays in the car park through the App whenever they wish or the possibility of having more than one vehicle associated with their bank card; the payment method to which the service needs to be linked once recorded. From that point, a 100% digital customer experience opens up, eliminating queuing or going to the payment machine, which is environmentally sustainable and does not require physical interaction with any item in the car park. Furthermore, unlike OBE (On Board Equipment, which operates with different brands depending on the country), it eliminates the figure of the intermediary, since the relationship is limited solely between the customer and Saba.
In 2023, the service was consolidated in Spain with notable growth in operations (+156%) and active customers (+40%), thanks to the launch of an ambitious sales campaign (Saba Ticketless).
The dynamics of use of number plate recognition are the same as with OBE. In fact, Saba was a pioneer in the deployment of this technology in Spain (VIA T) and successfully promoted this system in Chile (TAG), Italy (Telepass) and Portugal (Via Verde). Year after year, the number of Saba car parks that offer the possibility of accessing, exiting and paying through an OBE device has increased, reaching a total of 155 in 2023. Clients using this technology made it possible to close 2023 with a record number of 16 million movements in four countries.
Customers who choose number plate recognition will be able to review their stays in the car park via the App
OBE, a widespread technology with growth potential
155
car parks
16
million movements
VIA T
Spain
82 car parks
8.3 million movements
Via Verde
Portugal
35 car parks
4.8 million movements
Telepass
Italy
24 car parks
2.6 million movements
TAG
Chile
14 car parks
302,000 movements
A new future for TAG in Chile
Although in recent years payment using QR technology and the new Ticketless service (or Barrierless systems, widespread in the United Kingdom and Germany), were gaining presence, Saba is confident of the potential growth of OBE in countries like Chile, where it is called “TAG”. In 2024, Saba launched, together with Autopase, a Vías Chile company that is a pioneer in offering a range of services associated with the TAG, an important innovation that will take the use of this device in the company's car parks to another level.
Saba and Autopase have developed a solution that allows customers to access, exit and pay in 11 Saba car parks automatically. The user needs only approach the access point and press the TAG button on the access screen and the barrier opens automatically. To date, in order to take advantage of the advantages of this service in Chile, TAG users —a system with very high penetration in Chile— also had to register the device at Saba, so many potential customers did not carry out this procedure due to administrative barriers.
Now Saba customers have no excuse for not enjoying all the advantages of TAG and they can forget about queuing and going to the payment machine.
Saba and Autopase have developed a solution that allows customers to access, exit and pay automatically in 11 Saba car parks
160 barrierless car parks in the United Kingdom and Germany
Can a car park function without any barriers?
Saba has innovation as a permanent feature of its DNA. Within the access, exit and payment methods, different solutions coexist, depending on the country or region, to adapt as much as possible to the preferences of its customers.
The central and northern European countries are especially suitable for deploying number plate recognition, since they have more experience in similar mobility services. This is the case in the United Kingdom and Germany, where a different operation is applied to that of Spain (based on the Saba App as a method of registration and payment for the service), working in a coordinated manner between the car parks and the Customer Service and Control Centres (CSCC) that the company has in both countries.
In these cases, the number plate works as a control method to know whether the customer has paid for their stay, but the car parks have no physical element that prevents vehicle access or exit. In practice, it means the end of traditional barriers. The technology that allows payment (App) and carries out access control, as well as careful coordination with the CSCC, makes it possible to know the cost of the stay of each vehicle at all times and whether the customer has paid for it before leaving the car park.
Without a doubt, a sample of where the sector is heading as technology and knowledge of it advance in our society.
