Dubai: University students develop solution to alleviate parking problems – News

Drivers in Dubai will soon be able to take relief from the hassle of searching for parking spaces, thanks to an innovative solution developed by a team of university students.

Ramisha Ahmareen Zaman and Fatma Ahmad Alattar, second-year students at the Canadian University of Dubai (CUD), created the ‘Rent-a-Parking’ platform, inspired by their own daily challenges when searching for parking space in the city.

Ramisha said: “Our college is in the City Walk area and we struggle a lot with the parking situation there as we cannot find parking spaces easily. You have to validate your parking, take the car out after five hours and then validate it again. It is a daily struggle for us. So, we decided to come up with a novel and viable parking solution. Therefore, we thought of using residential areas. “A lot of people here live in apartments and they may have extra parking spaces.”

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Redistribution of unused parking spaces

Ramisha and Fatma set out to explore how they could redistribute unused space to increase capacity in high-demand locations.

Fatma explained: “Dubai has one of the highest numbers of cars per capita in the world. “One option would be to build more spaces, but we wanted to explore a more sustainable solution to the problem, where residents with unused parking spaces could offer them for rent.”

Describing how the system would work, Fatma added: “We have created a dynamic online marketplace where people can list available parking spaces in residential buildings. “It allows tenants to monetize their unused parking space while providing a convenient solution for drivers.”

The duo noted that the price implies a minimum and maximum limit, with variations determined mainly by the level of demand in each area.

“The platform is available throughout the city and spaces can be rented for variable durations, whether hours, days or months, depending on the user’s specific needs. The minimum is one hour and the maximum is one month or one year. If there is higher demand in a location, rates are always higher compared to a location that has less demand. Secondly, the price also depends on the person listing it, just like Dubizzle where people add prices according to their discretion,” Ramisha explained.

Application prototype

They explained that while a prototype of the ‘Rent-a-Parking’ application is currently ready, there will be intermediary parties tasked with ensuring the safety of vehicles or parking spaces against any potential damage.

“Cameras will be installed and collaboration with the regulatory body, the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), is part of our plan. Additionally, a percentage of the profits will be shared with the building owner. Therefore, obtaining permission from the building owners is our first step in renting the parking space. We do not intervene in the transactions between the tenant and the tenant, but we charge a fee of three to five percent for each transaction that occurs between them. Therefore, our role is mainly to facilitate transactions between these two parties,” the 21-year-old added.

After almost a year of work on market analysis and prototype development, Ramisha and Fatma are now looking towards the next stage of their project.

Fatma added: “We would like to explore investment opportunities and also develop the regulatory framework for the platform, which we hope to do in collaboration with relevant authorities such as the RTA. We also won first prize in the Entrepreneurship Showcase for our idea organized at the recent Brand Me Summit. The shortage of parking spaces is a growing problem, especially in urban areas. We hope that our innovation can contribute to a sustainable solution to this challenge.”

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