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Valet parking is a parking service offered by some restaurants, stores, and other businesses. In contrast to "self-parking", where customers find a parking space on their own, customers' vehicles are parked for them by a person called a valet . This service either requires a fee to be paid by the customer or is offered free of charge by the establishment.
A valet is usually an employee of the establishment or an employee of a third-party valet service. When there is a fee, it is usually either a flat amount or a fee based on how long the car is parked. It is customary in the United States to tip the valet who actually parks the car. Valet parking is most often offered (and is most useful) in urban areas, where parking is scarce, though some upscale businesses offer valet parking as an optional service, even though self-parking may be readily available. For example, in wealthy suburban areas like California's Silicon Valley, some hospitals (like Stanford University Medical Center) offer valet parking for the convenience of patients and their visitors.
Some cars come with an additional key, known as a valet key, that starts the ignition and opens the driver's side door, but prevents the valet from gaining access to valuables that are located in the trunk or the glove box. [1]
The main advantage of valet parking is convenience. Customers do not have to walk from a distant parking spot carrying heavy loads. Many disabled drivers rely on valet parking when they can't walk from and to a distant parking spot. Likewise, people who do not have time to search for a parking spot can valet park without the hassle. Valet parking is especially convenient in bad weather. Most professional valet attendants are well insured, and knowledgeable about nearly every make and model of car and their quirks; including aftermarket alarm systems, and keyless ignitions.
An advantage of valet parking is that it is possible to pack more cars into a given physical space, in what is generally known as "stack parking". The valet holds all the keys and can park the cars two or more deep, as they can move cars out of the way to free a blocked-in car.
Another type of stacking is called lane stacking. This method is useful for events where guests all arrive around the same time, such as for a wedding reception. The point of this procedure is to keep the lane (or lanes) of incoming traffic flowing forward so that guests are spared a long wait time for valet service. This method is usually accomplished by designating one or two of the valets to be "stackers", who simply "push" each car up fifty feet or so and prepare it for a quick "takeaway" for a returning valet to park. The process is then repeated until all cars are parked, utilizing as much lane space as possible, meanwhile keeping the lanes moving.
An additional advantage of valet parking, aside from stacking, is that valets can park cars closer and straighter than some customers may park. This will save the space in the parking lot or garage, and prevent the inconvenience of going to different floors by cramming everything in.
An efficient valet service will implement (or at least prepare) a system to handle the expected number of cars and guests. This may include, but is not limited to, any of the following: designated greeters, stackers, and parkers, a system for marking car locations, and sometimes even a shuttle service for valets at large venues in order to expedite car return times at the end of the event.
Valet parking also adds a touch of luxury compared to self-parking. Many locations and events that provide valet parking provide extra touches such as bringing the car up front, having the doors opened for the guest, and in rare cases cleaning and detailing of the vehicle.
As described above, several different types of venues offer valet parking. These include:
Common valet parking equipment includes articles such as valet podiums and key boxes for storing and protecting keys and valet tickets which are used to keep track of keys and their corresponding vehicles. Some valet parking providers also use specially designed umbrellas and signs to direct customers or display prices.
In some urban areas where parking is exceptionally scarce, events and universities sometimes sponsor a valet parking service for bikes. This service is normally free of charge and offered to encourage riding a bike to the location. [2]
Motorcycle valet parking can be found in the city of Surakarta, Indonesia at places such as Pasar Gede, Pasar Singosaren, Pasar Sidodadi, Pasar Kleco, Pasar Klewer.
A parking meter is a device used to collect money in exchange for the right to park a vehicle in a particular place for a limited amount of time. Parking meters can be used by municipalities as a tool for enforcing their integrated on-street parking policy, usually related to their traffic and mobility management policies, but are also used for revenue.
Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and usually leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' users. Countries and local governments have rules for design and use of parking spaces.
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Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.
A parking lot or car park, also known as a car lot, is a cleared area intended for parking vehicles. The term usually refers to an area dedicated only for parking, with a durable or semi-durable surface. In most jurisdictions where cars are the dominant mode of transportation, parking lots are a major feature of cities and suburban areas. Shopping malls, sports stadiums, and other similar venues often have immense parking lots.
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Double parking refers to parking parallel to a car already parked at the curb or double parking in attended car parks and garages.
A parking space, parking place or parking spot is a location that is designated for parking, either paved or unpaved. It can be in a parking garage, in a parking lot or on a city street. The space may be delineated by road surface markings. The automobile fits inside the space, either by parallel parking, perpendicular parking or angled parking.
A truck stop, known as a service station in the United Kingdom, and a travel center by major chains in the United States, is a commercial facility which provides refueling, rest (parking), and often ready-made food and other services to motorists and truck drivers. Truck stops are usually located on or near a busy road.
A multistorey car park or parking garage, also called a multistorey, parking building, parking structure, parkade, parking ramp, parking deck, or indoor parking, is a building designed for car, motorcycle, and bicycle parking in which parking takes place on more than one floor or level. The first known multistorey facility was built in London in 1901, and the first underground parking was built in Barcelona in 1904. The term multistorey is almost never used in the US, because almost all parking structures have multiple parking levels. Parking structures may be heated if they are enclosed.
Intelligent Parking Assist System (IPAS), also known as Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS) for Toyota models in the United States, is the first production automatic parking system developed by Toyota Motor Corporation in 1999 initially for the Japanese market hybrid Prius models and Lexus models. The technology assists drivers in parking their vehicle. On vehicles equipped with the IPAS, via an in-dash screen and button controls, the car can steer itself into a parking space with little input from the user. The first version of the system was deployed on the Prius Hybrid sold in Japan in 2003. In 2006, an upgraded version debuted for the first time outside Japan on the Lexus LS luxury sedan, which featured the automatic parking technology among other brand new inventions from Toyota. In 2009, the system appeared on the third generation Prius sold in the U.S. In Asia and Europe, the parking technology is marketed as the Intelligent Park Assist System for both Lexus and Toyota models, while in the U.S. the Advanced Parking Guidance System name is only used for the Lexus system.
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Automatic parking is an autonomous car-maneuvering system that moves a vehicle from a traffic lane into a parking spot to perform parallel, perpendicular, or angle parking. The automatic parking system aims to enhance the comfort and safety of driving in constrained environments where much attention and experience is required to steer the car. The parking maneuver is achieved by means of coordinated control of the steering angle and speed which takes into account the actual situation in the environment to ensure collision-free motion within the available space.
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Franeleros are people who have as main activity guarding or keeping an eye on cars parked in several streets in certain places in large Mexican cities, getting a tip as a reward, which sometimes is established by them. The term comes from the Spanish word franela, meaning flannel, which is a small piece of soft light fabric which they use to wash the cars if they are asked to, or to simply wave it around to give parking indications. Franeleros are sometimes also known as cuida-coches or "viene vienes", which is the phrase they commonly say while giving the parking indications. In 2007, due to the criticisms around this controversial "occupation" this guarding activity became illegal in Mexico City, but it is still widely practiced. In areas where parking meters have been installed, franeleros no longer operate.
Internavi is a vehicle telematics service offered by the Honda Motor Company to drivers in Japan. In the United States, the service is known as HondaLink, or sometimes MyLink. It provides mobile connectivity for on-demand traffic information services and internet provided maps displayed inside selected Honda vehicles. The service began August 1997 and was first offered in the 1998 Honda Accord and the Honda Torneo sold only in Japan starting July 1998. The service received a revision to services offered October 2002, adding traffic information delivery capabilities for subscribers to the Internavi Premium Club, and was optional on most Honda vehicles sold in Japan. VICS was integrated into the service starting September 2003. Membership in the service has steadily grown to exceed 5 million subscribers as of March 2007.
An automated (car) parking system (APS) is a mechanical system designed to minimize the area and/or volume required for parking cars. Like a multi-story parking garage, an APS provides parking for cars on multiple levels stacked vertically to maximize the number of parking spaces while minimizing land usage. The APS, however, utilizes a mechanical system to transport cars to and from parking spaces in order to eliminate much of the space wasted in a multi-story parking garage. While a multi-story parking garage is similar to multiple parking lots stacked vertically, an APS is more similar to an automated storage and retrieval system for cars. Parking systems are generally powered by electric motors or hydraulic pumps that move vehicles into a storage position.The paternoster is an example of one of the earliest and most common types of APS.
Parking in Mexico City is a mix of street parking controlled by franeleros or parking space holders, but in some areas meters have been introduced. According to a survey by IBM, Mexico City had North America's worst parking and tied for 10th worst in the world, to IBM's survey, with 73 per cent of drivers in Mexico City having had to abandon their search for parking at some point during the previous 12 months.