In the city of Dubrovnik, which receives a high number of visitors each year, it is extremely difficult to find a parking space, especially in the old town. As a result of this, Dubrovnik launched a cutting-edge Smart Parking initiative in 2018, which uses IoT technology to connect different devices and/or sensors. It includes all the parking across the whole city and provides real-time information about the number of free parking spaces available in each car park, as well as the prices, opening hours and exact distance from the user's current location. The app is built into Google Maps, which geo-locates the user and provides the best route to get to the car park. It also includes an additional payment service which allows users to pay for all the parking services in the destination, speeding up payment processes and avoiding queues at pay machines, as well as monitoring all transactions carried out. This initiative uses NB-IoT technology (Narrow Band Internet of Things) applied to the 1900+ sensors located below each of the parking spaces, which are connected to cameras and mobile devices to obtain and provide information in real time. These devices offer the same functions as IoT sensors, but as they use a low-power network, they:
• Improve coverage levels.
• Offer more secure connections.
• Last longer, as they require low quantities of data. This solution has an indirect impact on administrators, as it alleviates the problems resulting from inefficient mobility management, minimises traffic jams and provides better transit.