ENT PROJECT 1.3

Four MBA students at Al Yamamah University developed a prototype for a platform that displays available parking in real-time and allows reservations before arriving on campus, after exploratory sampling showed that searching for a parking spot could lead to delays and daily stress.

Minutes before a lecture starts, the question on a student's mind may not be: Have you prepared for the lecture? But rather: Will I find a parking spot before the classroom door closes?

This moment becomes more pronounced during peak times, especially between lectures, and when evening program students arrive at the university.
A student arrives on campus and begins to circle around the parking lots without knowing in advance where the available space is or how long it will take to find it.

From this daily experience, four students from the MBA program at Al Yamamah University set out to develop the EasyPark24 project as part of an entrepreneurship course, under the supervision of Dr. Yasser Al-Malawi.

The team includes: Abdulrahman Al-Buraidi, Hassan Al-Sabhi, Raed Al-Dhiabi, and Rakan Al-Arawi. Their project proposes a digital platform that helps students, staff, and visitors know the available parking spots and reserve one before arrival, then access it using a QR code.

The Problem is Not Just Driving

Difficulty in parking is often viewed as an issue related to the number of available spaces. However, the EasyPark24 team tried to look at another aspect of the problem: the lack of information before arrival.

Even when there is an available space in part of the campus, the driver may not know where it is.
During peak times, this information gap can turn into minutes of searching and circling, potentially resulting in parking far away, using an unsuitable space, or arriving late to a lecture or meeting.

The team focused particularly on the period between 5:30 and 6 PM, which is a crucial arrival time for evening program students, in addition to the short periods between lectures that witness vehicles exiting and entering in close succession.

Here, the proposed solution differs from merely adding new parking spots.
Increasing capacity requires land, construction, and budget, while the project aims to improve the use of existing spaces by clearly showing their availability and distributing demand more effectively.

What Did the Sample Show?

To initially verify the problem, the team collected responses from ten participants; 80% of whom were students and 20% were staff, and all members of the sample commuted to the university by car.

Nine out of ten participants reported that they face difficulty finding a parking spot, at least sometimes. 80% said they spend five minutes or more searching during busy days, while 20% mentioned that search time could exceed twenty minutes.

Additionally, 80% reported that parking issues had previously caused them to be late for a lecture, work, or meeting. Half of the participants felt that the most difficult times occur between lectures, followed by evening arrival times and special events.

These figures do not represent all students and staff at Al Yamamah University; the sample is limited and exploratory, and cannot solely be used to build a comprehensive estimate of the problem's size.
However, it provided the team with an initial indicator that the difficulty in finding parking is not an individual impression and that it deserves testing a practical solution.

What Does a Driver Do When They Can't Find a Spot?

The team asked participants about the behavior they resort to when they cannot find a suitable space.

80% said they park far away and then walk, while 40% indicated that they might use unofficial parking under time pressure. 20% said they continue to circle and search, while 10% reported that they might abandon the visit and turn back.

These responses reveal that the cost of the problem is not measured in minutes alone. Parking far away means additional time and effort, while parking incorrectly carries regulatory risks, and repeated circling consumes fuel and increases congestion in the parking areas.

When participants were asked about the change they see as most beneficial, 60% chose the availability of real-time information about parking via an app or screen, compared to 30% who preferred increasing the number of parking spots.

This means, within the limits of the sample, that the demand for information was greater than the demand for physical expansion of spaces.

From Anxiety Before Reaching a Confirmed Spot

EasyPark24 proposes to change the user journey from the moment they decide to head to the university.

The user starts by specifying their destination and arrival and departure times, then available parking spots appear with information to help them compare, such as distance from the building, walking time, and the number of remaining spaces.

After selecting a spot, the user registers their vehicle and confirms the reservation. They then receive a QR code to use at the entrance gate, along with directions to their reserved space.

During the parking period, the model displays a session timer and allows for extension if needed. Upon departure, the user can review their experience or report an issue.

The team described this journey as a transition from uncertainty before booking to confidence after confirming the spot. Instead of arriving first and then starting the search, the user knows their destination before entering the campus.

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