Swiss APS & Public Parking

As you drive into the older section of Schaffhausen, Switzerland (just north of Zurich), you’re likely to go by an unusual Swiss landmark, the City Parking facility, on Bachstrasse 55. City Parking is located in the inner-city at the edge of the pedestrian area, just a one minute walk to the train station.

City Parking is mainly used for long-term parking and it is privately financed. While City Parking is noteworthy for being the only public automated parking system (APS) in Switzerland, its history is also interesting.

City Parking had a long, interesting history prior developing into its current form:

• The original structure was a manually operated aboveand underground car lift built in 1958.
• In 2000, Dolphin Parking from the Netherlands replaced the manual system with a fully automated parking system.
• Robotech (Austria) upgraded the control system and lift / shuttle in 2004.
• Parking Properties AG purchased the facility in 2013 to make this public parking an income-producing property.
• Skyline Parking will be providing further upgrades to improve user experience, reliability and profitability.

City Parking is interesting as an automated parking system for three other reasons. While not unique, it is a demonstration that users require no prior instruction or training to use an APS as public parking. It reaffirms the viability of retrofitting existing parking facilities as an APS. Additionally, City Parking’s new owner will increase the current revenues by allowing more short-term parking. This is projected to achieve a 6% ROI and 10% ROE which would clearly demonstrate automated parking can produce good returns for property developers.

Take a trip to Schaffhausen and enjoy some unusual history when you park your car at City Parking.

About Skyline Parking AG

Skyline Parking AG designs and supplies the most space-efficient and fastest fully automated parking systems. Skyline’s systems provide high returns while being an environmentally and user-friendly answer to the growing scarcity and cost of urban space, worldwide. The broad range of products, means that Skyline Parking has a solution for virtually any location, problem and requirement.