When we talk about smart parking we are often referring to particular hardware and software designed to make the experience easier for the driver and more efficient for the operator. But what else makes parking smart?
For this Quick Question, we asked captains of the industry to share which products, services, solutions and principles they think make the parking industry shine. From mobility hubs to blockchain and the latest technology vs the human touch.
David Grinevald, VP International at Onepark
“Precisely its ability to adapt to new ways of moving around, new vehicles and new modes of consumption. Parking must now be used by different types of users, such as electric vehicles, and can also serve as landing pads for delivery units or ride-hailing companies. In a nutshell, parking is becoming smart as it progressively transforms into complete mobility hubs.”
Jurgen Rutgers, Managing Director of BeSite
“Parking is smart when it is connected to other mobility services when it is not more than a little step from your car to another mobility service. When parking is as easy as paying for your coffee, then I believe that it is smart. You are not on a journey for a travel experience, you want to get to your destination as quickly and safely as possible!”
Marc Boher, Chief Commercial Officer at Urbiotica
“What makes parking really smart – it’s the capacity of making it painless. Informing when and where people can park according to their needs, whilst being integrated into the mobility chain. This is what the sector is running after right now.”
Vanessa Amat, Marketing Director at Quercus Technologies
“A car park is smart, for instance, if its technology can automate parking access, or if you don’t need a ticket, or if you can look for your car at a kiosk. A parking lot is smart thanks to new technologies, and through the constant evolution and development of products and software. Good use of this technology provides more and more data to make strategic decisions. Business intelligence is the key to the future.”
Fabio Mauri, Smart Parking Product Manager at Paradox Engineering
“Smart parking is made of three main elements. First, an outstanding vehicle detection technology, second, an interoperable network platform. Cities should be able to use one single infrastructure to control multiple applications, for instance, lighting, video surveillance, Wi-Fi and more. Finally, blockchain technology. This allows us to improve cybersecurity and transform data into revenues, boosting the economy by engaging start-ups and businesses.”
Brian Wolff, President and CEO of Parker Technology
“What makes parking smart is the parking industry’s ability to take this digital transformation and connect all of the stakeholders seamlessly. So that the apps talk to the facilities, talk to the different stakeholders that must interact with the customers. Also, all the while, injecting human touch into that experience when the technology fails. That’s what will make parking smart.”
Christian Grzona, Director of Sales and Marketing at evopark
“Many people confuse smart with bringing more tools, sensors, and technology to the party. Of course, this is an important aspect of the game, but I believe that it is the people that make the difference. People that understand the industry, that dive deep into use cases and get their heads around the benefits for the user. The approach of smart parking should be people-centric and focus on the aspects that make the lives of users and operators more convenient. Then we will have reached our goal.”
Silvia Palmarini, Country Manager, Italy at Parkos
“Looking for a parking spot has always caused stress, especially when going to the airport. Smart airport parking is stress-free parking. From reserving a parking spot online to the whole parking experience, customers don’t have to worry about questions like: will there be space for my car? Is my car safe? Is the parking lot monitored?
Dominik Wieser, CEO and Founder of Arivo
“We at Arivo think that parking needs to be smart for all parties involved, smart for the end-user and smart for the operator. Smart of the end-user specifically means convenient, ticketless entry and exit with license plate recognition, and automatic payment with an invoice at the end of the month. Smart of the operator means better software, and less hardware, which will, therefore, save money on equipment and administration whilst increasing revenue at the same time.”
Jussi Tomperi, Managing Director of Portier
“I think that parking becomes smart when it is an integral and seamless part of the experience. As everyone knows, parking is never the main purpose for traveling but rather a part of travel that needs to be smooth and efficient. Parking experience can be affected in multiple ways, parking guidance solutions that can smoothen the parking by creating an all-inclusive parking experience, starting from the onset of the journey to the best available parking space and vice versa.”
Andrea Fossati, CEO of Parquery
“There are two perspectives in general of what makes parking smart. For drivers, it should be easy to find an available parking spot, and ideally, this information should be integrated directly inside the navigation system. There shouldn’t be traffic generated by drivers looking for parking. for parking owners, a lot of information such as occupancy, duration, and statistics should be possible with the least possible hardware. In fact, the parking operators want to offer their customers and drivers a smooth parking experience throughout the whole parking journey.”
