In the splendid setting of the Agorà at the Morelli car park in Naples, last Friday, 23 January, HUB organised the workshop "Smart Mobility HUB: technologies that connect roads, networks and people", sponsored by AIPARK.
The event began with institutional greetings from Laurence A. Bannerman, secretary of AIPARK. Greeting the audience of operators, municipalities, and industry experts, Bannerman opened on a positive note: Italy has nothing to envy other European countries when it comes to advanced urban mobility management. Digitalization allows the country to make a quantum leap and integrate into complex systems, thanks in part to AI. Bannerman closed by reminding everyone of the fifth edition of PDAYS on 28-29 May at Stazione Leopolda.
Alessandro Vermellino, General Manager of HUB Italia, does the honours, proudly presenting the team and the HUB Jupiter facility that serves the location - the combination of advanced technology, modern design and the concrete essentiality of tuff is a spectacle that one certainly does not expect when simply 'looking for a parking space'.
Fabio G. Mosconi, moderator of the event and president of AIPARK, introduces the workshop. Mosconi skilfully weaves together the speeches of the speakers and breaks the ice with an overview of the mobility infrastructure of Italian cities. Echoing Bannerman's words, he highlights the elements of digitalisation – developments in smart parking – available today. Parking facilities are no longer “car containers” but mobility and service centres, and this role is set to become even more established in the “smart hubs” of the future.
The experience of ATR Cesena
Stefano Vernarelli of ATR Cesena recounted the digital evolution of parking management in Romagna, where the company manages over 7,500 parking spaces, including approximately 6,000 blue spaces. The transformation has been radical: paper permits have disappeared, replaced by number plate reading systems using cameras and parking attendants. One figure gives pause for thought: on average, a system consumes only three rolls of paper in two years of installation. Vernarelli presented two case studies in Cesena and Cesenatico, where self-service management and ticketless configuration are paving the way for the future. The vision is clear: cloud computing for cost-effective purchasing and maintenance, elimination of barriers (users themselves have already destroyed eight), and free flow. Of course, as Vernarelli candidly admitted, the barrier is also cultural - but to make it truly obsolete, a change in habits will be needed.
Regenerating the Galleria Vittoria in Forlì
Raffaella Lombardi of RL Studio provided a concrete example of how a car park can become a catalyst for urban regeneration. The Municipality of Forlì made the bold decision to start with an underground car park that had been abandoned since 2011 in order to redevelop the entire Galleria Vittoria, an area marked by degradation. The guiding principle is crystal clear, as Lombardi pointed out: 'redeveloping without regenerating – or vice versa – is the wrong approach'. The project recovered 102 parking spaces and renovated the spaces with modern systems, great attention to sustainability (wastewater collection, integration of greenery on all floors, seats wired with photovoltaic panels) and simplified navigation. The result? The quality of life in the new spaces has improved significantly, demonstrating that investing in parking means investing in the city.
ATM Messina: when parking and local public transport work together
Carla Grillo, president of ATM Messina, described the challenge facing a city with 889 cars per 1,000 inhabitants – "which is too many!" she admitted frankly. ATM, a young company founded in 2020, manages local public transport and paid parking in the metropolitan city. The winning idea was to transform parking from an ancillary function to an interchange hub, investing in parallel in a fleet of buses, drivers and three multi-storey car parks plus 16 ground-level car parks in strategic locations. 2025 saw the launch of an incredibly successful campaign: an annual bus pass plus a parking space for €100 per year. The response? 10,000 requests, a number that involved sacrificing margins but demonstrated how much citizens appreciate integrated solutions. Management is monitored through a Sala Meta, an advanced control room with 24/7 customer care, integrated with HUB's JMS. The lesson Grillo shared is simple but fundamental: park-and-ride facilities work if there is a transport network that works.
ATB Bergamo: data at the service of decision-making
Vito Pavone of ATB Bergamo explained how the city of Bergamo is using data to guide mobility choices. Through the integrated collection of information on parking and traffic flows, trends in motorist usage are clearly emerging. ATB has integrated all on-street parking apps and adopted the HUB vision that combines mobility, digital services and usage agreements. The case study of the Atalanta stadium with HUB Italia is a concrete example of data-driven management, where management dashboards allow informed decisions to be made in real time. Pavone confirmed that parking management is no longer just about managing spaces, but 'an essential infrastructure hub for all urban mobility'.
SELEA and artificial intelligence in number plate recognition
Simone Zani from SELEA brought the perspective of technology, explaining how artificial intelligence has transformed OCR number plate reading systems. The company operates in two main markets - smart cities, where number plate recognition supports public safety, and smart security - training neural networks to constantly improve performance. Of particular interest is the ongoing test with HUB for the automatic classification of incoming vehicles and the association of the correct tariff: the accuracy of the system translates directly into customer satisfaction. Zani emphasised how HUB believed in their technology, allowing it to grow through real-world cases. The future? Predictive analytics that, thanks to AI, help to make increasingly informed decisions.
City centre parking fees: analysis by CTM - Parkar
Proto Tilocca of CTM - Parkar brought up an often overlooked but crucial perspective: parking fees. His national benchmarking analysis highlighted how some cities have made significant changes to their parking fees, while others lag behind. Tariffs, explained Tilocca, vary in correlation with the average income of cities, but there is a paradox: motorists still tend to drive into the city centre even if it costs them more. What is the risk of incorrect pricing design? The doughnut effect, with cars parked outside and around the structure but not inside, rendering any investment futile. The proposals are clear: work on dynamic pricing and introduce regulatory mechanisms that encourage rotation through progressive tariffs.
AGLA: when infomobility makes the difference
Davide Brambilla from AGLA, a long-standing partner of HUB, explained how infomobility systems can effectively guide motorists to parking spaces. Through three success stories – Bologna Airport, Rimini Exhibition Centre and the City of Imperia – he showed how the integration of Jupiter systems and variable message signs of various formats can improve the user experience. For over 30 years, AGLA's approach has combined method and customisation, with products that comply with the highway code and are designed to eliminate background noise. Brambilla's final consideration is as simple as it is powerful: 'The first thing drivers see: white P on a blue background. The last thing they see: white P on a blue background'. For those who manage road mobility, simplifying navigation is an essential guiding principle.
Mindicity: the technology is there, what is needed is vision.
Roberto Andreoli from Mindicity, part of the TIM group, closed the workshop. His speech emphasised a crucial point: in cities that are moving towards becoming smart cities, it is no longer a question of technological availability – that is already there – but of strategic vision. Andreoli highlighted how in Italy the approach is often 'let's build the building and then think about parking', while abroad the opposite is true. The cases presented during the workshop show that there are examples of excellence in our country too, but a systemic paradigm shift is needed. The integrated mobility system is scalable, and Mindicity works on data reports for local councils to provide evidence-based information to guide strategic decisions. Active intelligence at the service of mobility and citizens is no longer an option, but a necessity. The workshop confirmed that Italy has everything it takes to be a leader in the urban mobility revolution. The technologies are there, as are the skills, and above all, there is a growing awareness that parking is no longer just a place to leave your car, but a strategic hub connecting roads, networks and people. The meeting in Naples demonstrated that when institutions, businesses and technology work together, results are achieved - and they tangibly improve the lives of citizens.
