Frictionless, Sustainable and Connected Parking and Mobility

We have seen a lot of developments within the industry of parking and mobility. It is changing rapidly due to technological developments, a growing demand for sustainability and the need for more flexibility.  The future of parking and mobility not only promises innovations that will ease the ordeal of parking for the user, but also promises a bright future of possibilities to thrive for the parking provider. To keep you updated, our CEO, Elizabeth Zealand, drafted a list of 3 not to miss trends in the mobility and parking industry.

The innovation trends Elizabeth sees for parking are:

• Frictionless – contactless end to end solutions where parking spaces can be pre-planned and pre-booked, with driver guidance to the space, and paid for digitally
• Sustainable – increase in kerb usage for mobility as a service strategies to reduce single private vehicle use, and use of parking as a carrot for EV usage, rideshare.
• Connected – integration of different technologies through IoT for better prediction, analytics and real time data

In Elizabeth’s perfect world, there are no meters or parking signs polluting our streets. Digital infrastructure will allow everyone to search, find, understand and pay for kerbside use though our car, phone or wearable device. Contactless payments solutions, and Modii's (formerly Spot Parking) digital kerbside asset data will make this dream a reality.

Innovative projects with Modii's partners are leading to better utilization information to create predictive analytics on space availability. In an exciting new initiative Modii is working with one of the top five universities in the world to predict parking availability by specific permit type, such as electric vehicle, disability and student residency permits. By integrating with camera technology, the parking and mobility startup is using data to better model capacity and utilisation - capabilities that can be extended to allow cities and traffic planners to better shape their kerbside assets.

The push for less single use private vehicles will continue. “I think I am the only CEO of a parking company who doesn’t have a car!” shared Zealand.

Ride hail, Rideshare, car pool and autonomous shuttles (COVID notwithstanding) will need priority kerbside space to operate effective first and last mile solutions. The ability to be able to change kerbside rules quickly and communicate them to the public using the digital infrastructure Modii creates will help Mobility as a Service initiatives. For example, during events drop off-only zones can be created where paid street parking typically exists.

Green initiatives will continue in the parking industry from environmentally friendly power sources and green building material to the overall push to reduce emissions. “At Modii, we believe better certainty and faster discovery of parking spaces will reduce emissions created by vehicles circling looking for parking. "We will be partnering with air quality sensor providers to quantify the amount of emissions saved through better parking discovery in our client parking lots,” says Modii's CEO, Elizabeth Zealand.

COVID-19 showed a rethink of kerb use. On and off street parking spaces became COVID drive through testing centres, outdoor dining areas, storage facilities, pick up and drop off zones, community performance spaces and mobility zones.

Kerbside assets are too valuable to just be used for single private use parking, and asset owners need to be more innovative in their thinking around asset utilisation.

In this rapidly changing world, all industries have been impacted by innovation and evolving consumer demands. It has never been so important to ensure that your operations stay current in this market place. The journey’s end is a great place to start.