How University Hospital Erlangen provided 3.3x more employees with parking access

A university hospital with thousands of employees, limited space, and a daily stress factor that should be avoidable: parking.

Doctors and nursing staff never knew in the morning if a parking space would be waiting for them. The result was daily traffic congestion on the hospital grounds, lost time, and unnecessary stress before their shifts. Particularly frustrating: remote parking areas were largely empty while employees were unable to find a spot. Utilization was at just 80%.

At the same time, strategic pressure was mounting. For University Hospital Erlangen, sustainability is not just lip service, but a core part of corporate management. EU sustainability reporting requirements demand verifiable measures for emission reduction. Parking traffic was an obvious lever that had previously remained unused.

In a structured pilot phase, University Hospital Erlangen introduced ParkEfficient across two parking areas with a total of 170 spaces. Instead of building new areas, the potential of the existing infrastructure was consistently maximized.

Two allocation models were implemented. With fixed assignment with optional release, each person retains their fixed space but releases it automatically when it is not needed. In the algorithm pool, the system decides anew each day who gets which space, based on configurable priorities and hierarchy levels.

The decisive difference from the status quo: employees know the night before whether and where a parking space will be waiting for them in the morning. No more searching for spots, no more frustration, and no unnecessary CO₂ emissions on the premises.

The numbers speak for themselves.

80 → 98% Utilization of remote parking areas that were previously chronically empty

+158% more employees with parking access in area 1, with the number of spaces remaining at 33

+244% more employees with parking access in area 2, with the number of spaces remaining at 137

556 instead of 170 eligible employees, in the same areas as before

And all that without a single new parking space.

"The issue of 'parking shortages' is no longer a major concern for us. In the evening, employees know exactly where a space is reserved for them the next morning. This has allowed us to increase the utilization of more remote parking areas from 80% to 98%." Johannes Eissing, Press Officer, University Hospital Erlangen

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