Helsinki Pilots Centimetre-Precise E-Scooter Parking to Enhance Urban Safety

The rapid growth of e-scooters as a sustainable last-mile transport option has also brought challenges, particularly concerning parking compliance and sidewalk obstruction. Helsinki has proactively addressed these issues by designating specific, restricted, e-scooter parking zones. This pilot aims to further optimize these efforts through innovative technology.

Beginning earlier this week, this pilot introduces Sparkpark’s advanced digital parking infrastructure to four key districts across Helsinki – Pasila, Kalasatama, Kallio, and Esplanadi – aiming to significantly improve e-scooter parking accuracy and thus enhance pedestrian and cyclists’ safety and accessibility – a commonly seen challenge in the city center.

“This pilot is a good example of how we in Helsinki strive to find smart solutions to identified challenges”, Project Manager Noora Reittu from the coordinating company, Forum Virium Helsinki explains.

One of the primary advantages of Sparkpark’s system is its exceptional performance in environments where traditional GPS signals are weak or unreliable. This includes dense urban areas, locations surrounded by tall buildings, or underground parking facilities, where GPS accuracy often falters, leading to chaotic e-scooter placement.

Furthermore, Sparkpark directly addresses the common problem of e-scooters piling up in areas beyond their designated parking capacity. By offering precise location data, the system ensures that e-scooters are parked correctly and within the allocated spaces, improving accessibility for pedestrians and other urban users. This enhanced accuracy not only streamlines the parking process but also contributes to a more organized and aesthetically pleasing urban landscape, fostering a more sustainable and user-friendly shared mobility ecosystem.

“Prioritizing the perspective of non-riders by introducing proactive parking solutions –rather than reacting with punitive parking fees for the riders and operators– will be a game-changer for the future of micromobility”, state Sparkpark co-founders Igor Pancevski and Thomas Bråten. 

Revolutionizing E-Scooter Parking with Centimetre-Level Precision

During the three-month pilot, approximately twenty Sparkpark sensors will be installed near e-scooter parking areas in four strategic districts in the center of Helsinki: Pasila’s Tripla Shopping Center, Kalasatama’s Redi Shopping Center, Kallio, and Esplanadi. The sensors collect data only from e-scooter Bluetooth IDs, ensuring full GDPR compliance. The pilot will provide Helsinki with valuable insights into the functionality and suitability of new technologies for the city.

Sparkpark introduces a groundbreaking digital parking system designed to revolutionize the management of shared e-scooters and bring unprecedented order to urban mobility. Moving beyond the limitations of conventional GPS-based systems, Sparkpark leverages a sophisticated, patented Bluetooth positioning technology. This innovative approach delivers centimetre-level parking accuracy, a significant leap forward that effectively resolves critical challenges.

“Through this pilot, we aim to assist the City of Helsinki in developing future traffic safety measures. We also seek to test the technology’s functionality in challenging locations, such as areas with a weak GPS signal or other zones where e-scooters accumulate in large numbers”, Reittu adds. 

Photos: Vesa Laitinen

The ELABORATOR project aims to make urban mobility safer and more sustainable by developing planning and citizen participation. The project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program.