A parking lot in Hangzhou equipped with the intelligent payment system which can alleviate congestion and improve travel efficiency [Photo/zj.zjol.com.cn]

An intelligent payment system that can help alleviate traffic congestion in car parks is now available at over 2,000 areas in Hangzhou, covering over 85 percent of the urban area's total, local media reported on July 8.

The system identifies cars based on their plate numbers and can automatically deduct parking fees from a driver's Alipay account based on how long they have spent in the car park. Drivers need to register their vehicle numbers with Convenient Parking, a mini program embedded in Alipay, in order to use this service.

Compared with before when drivers have to manually pay for parking fees at the gantries, this new system has improved efficiency, reducing waiting time from 10 seconds to less than 2 seconds.

"The turnover rate of our parking lot has greatly improved and more than 3,000 people use the intelligent system every month," said Lin Kangning, a manager at Intime shopping mall.

The system is in line with Hangzhou's goals to turn itself into a leader in digital governance among Chinese cities.