Since August 2026, PBW – Parkraumgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, a Corporate Member of the EPA – has been managing all car parks on the Vaihingen campus in Stuttgart. Shortly before operations began, Parking Trend International spoke to PBW Managing Director Anja Müller about this exceptional project with around 2,600 parking spaces and PBW’s reorientation as a mobility service provider.
The largest campus in PBW’s portfolio
The Stuttgart-Vaihingen research campus is home to the University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart Media University, Max Planck, DLR and Fraunhofer institutes – over 100 institutes in total, organised as a “campus as a city”. It covers around 100 hectares, equivalent to 140 football pitches.
- 26 parking areas with on-street spaces and designated car parks
- Approx. 2,600 state-owned parking spaces plus municipal spaces
- Car parks from four to more than 500 spaces
- A diverse range of user groups
Introducing paid parking for the first time
Until now, parking on campus was essentially free. “The introduction of a paid parking scheme for the first time is quite different from simply changing the operator of an existing site,” says Müller. Stakeholders also want the campus to remain open. Typical problems include residents parking on campus for weeks, motorhomes, and airport travellers leaving cars for days. The management scheme aims to free these spaces for those who need them, with monthly and termly rates for students, staff rates and discounts for large customers.
Balancing barrier-controlled areas, number plate recognition, on-street parking and ticket machines across 26 zones is the challenge: “Finding the right balance – how to allocate capacities and quotas correctly – is a real art form.” Number plate recognition allows tailored quotas and tariffs, provided users can be verified digitally as students, staff, visitors or residents.
Scan-car enforcement
In areas without barriers, PBW combines on-site staff with a scan-car. “Where a staff member previously managed 50 checks, the scan-car manages over 1,000 in an hour,” says Müller. In Germany, its use was made possible by the amended State Mobility Act in Baden-Württemberg.
More campuses and the open market
The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), with around 1,600 parking spaces, was due to join PBW on 1 October 2026. PBW already serves 18 universities, manages state-built car parks such as in Tübingen’s Cyber Valley, and generates more than ten per cent of its portfolio from third parties – including its first lease agreement with AIF Capital Group for the “Am Feldberg” car park. “Due to our shareholder structure, we are under even greater pressure to promote alternative modes of transport and intermodality. Consequently, our concepts never consist solely of parking.”
Photo: Anja Müller, Managing Director of PBW – © PBW. Interview: Marko Ruh
This article first appeared in Parking Trend International, issue 3-2026, the magazine of the European Parking Association. Read the full issue online.