Smart parking innovations – look beyond parking

#News(General) [ via IoTForIndiaGroup ]

Smart parking brings immediate value
While smart parking solutions improve visibility for drivers and parking enforcement officers, that is not where the real innovation lies
Smart parking innovation starts with problems
To understand the potential innovation opportunities with smart parking – start with problems. We must understand who is impacted by parking problems and the extent of this impact.

> To drivers, parking is often seen as a necessary evil, and often leads to frustration. At best, it causes drivers to utilize alternate transportation options (bike, bus, ride-sharing) to reach their destination. At worst, they will avoid going to those places and go to other destinations with easier parking.

> Parking enforcement officers and agencies are often perceived as being the “bad guys” for doing their jobs. But in reality, a study by Fybr shows only 5% of parking violators are actually cited. Parking control agencies walk a fine line. Increasing enforcement effectiveness leads t the perception of overzealous prosecution of parking violators and increased complaints from local businesses.

>For businesses, the right location is critical to success. If parking is limited or extremely difficult, the business may not be able to attract as many customers and employees it needs to thrive and grow. Parking frustrations drive some customers and potential employees to go elsewhere. This results in businesses underperforming, shutting down, or relocating.

>To residents in dense urban areas, parking is a real problem for those who use their cars on a daily basis. Difficult parking situations causes people to find questionable alternative parking arrangements, or park far from where they live. Meanwhile, others simply choose to live in other areas with more parking.

>All cities depend on tax revenue and fees to generate and support services for residents and businesses inside its borders. They must balance parking revenues and citation enforcement, without alienating drivers, visitors and businesses. Overzealous enforcement or high parking fees will cause these stakeholders to go somewhere else, ultimately leading to a loss of tax revenue to fund city services.

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