Park & Ride Cluj-Napoca is a strategic urban mobility hub developed by the Municipality of Cluj-Napoca to reduce traffic congestion and promote environmentally conscious transportation.
Located near Avram Iancu International Airport, the facility sits along one of the city’s main access routes. Its position allows commuters arriving from surrounding areas to leave their vehicles outside the city centre and seamlessly continue their journey using public transportation.
The project was conceived as a new installation, built from the ground up as part of a broader urban mobility strategy, featuring an outdoor, single-level area with a total of 863 parking spaces. The objective was threefold: provide a flexible and affordable parking solution for short-term visitors and commuters, encourage the use of public transportation, and reduce the carbon footprint and traffic pressure in the city centre.
Through the Park & Ride system, the Municipality offers a secure parking area where citizens can leave their vehicles and use their parking ticket as a public transport pass. The pricing model encourages short and medium stays (within the day). After 10 hours, tariffs increase progressively to discourage long-term parking and avoid direct competition with the nearby airport parking.
This integrated approach makes urban mobility simpler and more sustainable. This intermodal integration is one of the most distinctive features of the project, reinforcing its role as a true mobility hub rather than a standalone parking facility.
At Park & Ride Cluj-Napoca, HUB Parking Technology delivered a fully integrated, future-ready parking solution designed to support the municipality’s urban mobility strategy and ensure efficient daily operations.
The system is based on LPR technology, featuring two entry lanes – including a double-entry configuration – and one exit lane. Upon arrival, the system automatically recognises each vehicle through license plate reading and issues a ticket. The entry process is intuitive and supported by Intercom system and integrated CCTV cameras, enabling operators to provide immediate remote assistance whenever required. At exit, payment is automatically verified through automatic number plate recognition, guaranteeing a fast and frictionless departure.
The tariff structure was configured to remain aligned with the presence of the nearby airport parking facility. Rates encourage short and medium stays, reinforcing the Park & Ride function and daily commuters, while longer stays progressively increase in cost.
A key element of the solution is its ability to manage multiple user categories within the same infrastructure. Dedicated configurations were implemented for disabled users, who benefit from free access, while taxi areas remain open but monitored through ground sensors. Bus operators rely on a redundant dual‑terminal system equipped with long‑range RFID readers, ensuring simplified fleet management and uninterrupted access.
Payments are managed through two indoor Automatic Pay Stations equipped with high-capacity cash recycling technology, a feature that optimise the storage and reuse of coins and banknotes, reducing the frequency of on-site cash collection and allowing the system to operate autonomously for extended periods. In addition to cash payments, users can pay via UpPark, Apple Pay and Google Pay, with a multilingual interface available in Romanian and English.
To enhance traffic flow, a Parking Guidance System supported by Urbiotica ground sensors provides real-time availability information on panels positioned before and inside the facility, helping prevent congestion and improving the overall user experience.
More than a parking facility, Park & Ride Cluj-Napoca functions as an integrated mobility hub: the parking ticket also serves as a public transport pass on selected lines to the city centre, enabling a seamless transition from private vehicle to public transport. Advanced reporting and monitoring tools give the municipality full operational visibility, ensuring continuous optimisation of performance and mobility objectives.