APCOA, Europe’s largest parking operator, and car sharing provider MILES have launched a new pilot for ticketless parking in Berlin, aiming to reduce traffic congestion and parking stress in busy urban centers. The project began on April 1 and covers three key city center locations, including two in Charlottenburg (the Kant Center and Augsburger Straße) and the Victoria Center at Ostkreuz station.
Customers using MILES vehicles can now start and end parking sessions effortlessly without physical tickets or payment machines thanks to advanced automatic license plate recognition. This technology automates entry and exit, with all processing handled in the background via MILES’ digital platform, eliminating tedious manual steps. MILES users can park in any free regular space, removing the hassle of finding designated car-sharing spots.
This initiative addresses the intense parking pressure and shortage of public spots in heavily frequented urban areas—a problem relevant to crowded cities across the United States, including Las Vegas and Reno. By directing car sharing vehicles into multi-storey car parks, the project reduces “search traffic,” the significant number of cars circling city streets hunting for parking. This reduces congestion, lowers emissions, and improves traffic flow.
Stefanie Kochs, Head of Urban Hubs at APCOA Germany, stated,
“The cooperation with MILES is another building block in improving the parking situation in urban city centre locations. Together, we ensure less stress, more comfort and more time gained during the parking process and at the same time contribute to relieving the burden on city centres.”
Peter Kormany, Project Manager Business Development at MILES, added,
“Our goal is to integrate car sharing into everyday life as easily and flexibly as possible. By connecting the APCOA multi-storey car parks, we take the pressure off the streets and offer our users a reliable parking alternative in highly frequented locations.”
APCOA manages over 1.8 million parking spaces at 13,000 locations across 13 European countries. Their innovative digital platform, APCOA FLOW, links on-street and off-street parking with vehicle and customer data to create seamless urban mobility solutions. This pilot showcases how smart parking tech can be a vital piece of the wider push toward smarter, cleaner cities globally.
For US cities like Las Vegas contending with rising downtown congestion and limited parking, the APCOA-MILES model demonstrates an actionable approach to reducing street-level traffic and enhancing shared mobility convenience through digitized, ticketless parking solutions. Officials and urban planners nationwide will be watching the pilot’s progress closely as smart city infrastructure gains urgency in tackling urban transportation woes.
Following initial rollout success, APCOA and MILES are already exploring expansion beyond Berlin. The pilot signals a strong step toward integrating car sharing more deeply into city life, empowering drivers with less hassle and helping cities breathe easier.
Stay tuned as this partnership develops and potentially reshapes urban parking nationwide.
