Low Code Parking App

About the city. The Dutch municipality has worked with Siemens company Mendix and JAM-IT to build a native app that enables its residents to register the licence plates of visitors’ cars.

Goal

The Rotterdam Bezoekersparkeren (RBP) app aims to improve user experience and uses biometric authentication, low latency and offline functionality. It was developed with Siemens company Mendix, which specialises in enterprise low-code apps after the previous solution with another provider was discontinued.

Implementation period. The first version of the app was launched in 2019; the RBP app is still improving.

Fact

Over 80,000 residents of Rotterdam have a licence for visitor parking and register 2.5 million cars per year.

Solution

Rotterdam collaborated with JAM-IT, a Ridderkerk-based Mendix partner, to rebuild the visitor parking app as native-mobile. The team was able to convert the hybrid RBP app to native mobile in six weeks. It was the first time anyone created a true native mobile app with Mendix. The interaction is fast and there’s no latency.

The big advantage for the users is that the app works offline. If there’s no mobile reception, the resident can still register their visitor’s car. When the connection is restored, the app automatically connects with the server and the information is updated.

The app can communicate with the system that contains all 80,000 parking contracts of residents and give users real-time insight into how many of their 500 hours of reduced parking they have left.

Challenges

Users of the app faced some feedback issues: app creators decided that future developments will include making it easy to provide feedback about the app.

Team

Rotterdam city, Siemens company Mendix and JAM-I

Timeline

• The RBP app was launched in June and the city reports that 97 per cent of users installed it within a month.
• Residents of Rotterdam who live in an area with paid parking can benefit from a reduced fee for their visitors. Because Rotterdam uses scan cars for parking enforcement, the residents need to register the licence plates of their visitors.

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