With dialogue in the industry increasingly focused on mobility, we asked our parking experts what place parking would play in smart cities of the future. Whilst a lot of thought, as well as time and money, is being given to alternative transportation modes it is clear from what we have heard during this Quick Question series that parking still has a vital role to play in the urban ecosystem. Read on to find out how parking will continue to evolve as it integrates into the wider mobility picture.
Enrico Filippi, Product Marketing Manager, Global at HUB Parking Technology
“Smart cities respond to people’s need to travel and network in more efficient ways. And digital transformation is boosting the evolution of parking in the same customer-centric direction. Digital parking services integrate seamlessly for drivers along their journey, whilst providing useful data to operators and parking owners that feed and promote intelligent mobility. Of course, parking will support the smart cities of the future, where journeys will span across transport methods to deliver better and cleaner customer experiences.”
Geremy Rodamer, Director of Underdog Concepts at TEZ
“Parking will play a role in smart cities, although the experience may differ if you’re in a large city or a smaller community. Large cities will have more automation that is data-driven whilst smaller communities may be more environmentally centric. At the end of the day when it comes to safety, automation, and tracking, data is going to be the determining factor in what capacity parking plays, but it definitely will be there.”
Nick D'Alessio, Senior Business Development Manager at Brother Mobile Solutions
“We are very excited to see new smart city initiatives emerging in the USA and Canada that are powered by IoT solutions. But, even in the midst of that, we still see the need for coming up with creative parking solutions for commuters that need to individually commute out of urban areas. So for the future, we see a collaborative IoT smart city solution also including parking.”
Marco Parnisari, Smart Parking Product Manager at Paradox Engineering SA
“Covid-19 is expected to have a long-lasting impact on some forms of urban mobility. Public health is now an absolute priority, and congestion and air pollution continue to be at the top of the agenda. Heading to zero-emission transportation systems, cities should make smarter use of data to improve mobility. Smart Parking will definitely play a big role in urban areas, both today and tomorrow.”
Hans Puvogel, COO at Parkopedia
“Parking will be a key component in future urban mobility. Covid-19 has brought individual mobility and car ownership back, big-time. Parking will change: on-street parking will all but disappear, transient parking will decrease and new solutions for residential and commercial real estate will evolve.”
Simon Wood, Senior Key Account Manager at CCV
“We believe that the provision of parking capacity and how it is paid for is an essential element of a mobility strategy. Where the focus of mobility effort to date has been on bus, tram, and trains, none of this works without adequate provision for the transition between private and public transport modes, a function that will require increasingly integrated parking delivery.”
Jason Yu, Business Innovation Sales Specialist at Parkxper
“Smart cities are an unavoidable future trend and parking will certainly play a big role. In recent years, IoT data, in this case, on-street and off-street parking statistics, are required to be more transparent and available to the public. The communication between physical devices and the public will becomes a key bridge in this ecosystem. Eventually, all parking-related information will be available to the public to access from anywhere, and so parking will definitely have a role to play in smart cities.”
Marc Boher, Chief Commercial Officer at Urbiotica
“Parking is a key pillar in managing a city’s mobility. The approach to parking management will evolve in the future and will depend on the specific needs of each city. For instance, big cities will focus on managing added-value parking spots, such as loading zones or disabled parking bays. They also will invest in informing drivers about park and ride facilities to promote public transport and reduce congestion.”
Harvey He, Director of Parking Solutions at Dahua Technology
Transportation use is the cornerstone of smart cities and parking plays an important role in transportation. The population of urban cities keeps on growing, and as a consequence, there will be a growing number of cars in more compressed cities, which will negatively impact traffic and the environment. So, it’s essential to develop smart parking to reduce traffic congestion and pollution, as well as to release drivers from struggling to find a space.”
Maarten Mijwaart, Business Developer Benelux and Scandinavia at Tattile
“Cars are still, by far, the most used mode of transport in cities. In the future, car sharing may be more widely embraced, and perhaps we will see a large portion of vehicles being able to drive autonomously. But these cars will not be moving constantly, they will need to park to wait for owners or next passengers, and while waiting they might be serviced, charged, or fuelled. Parking facilities may change when it comes to the layout, the situation or purpose, but parking will be a necessity, also in the smart cities of the future.”
Adrian Cseko, Sales Manager at Asura Technologies
“Driving a car is still a primary choice for people connected to cities so as long as people prefer their own vehicles over public transportation, parking is sure to play a key role. I think the real challenge lies in keeping traffic and parking eco and customer friendly in the long-run so contactless parking solutions, smart guidance, and parking reservation systems will be key to smart parking projects in the future.”
Alexandre Muzeka, Business Development Manager for Brazil, Mobility Division at Quercus Technologies
“Parking will play a major role in smart cities of the future. In a society where time is money, automatizing access and controlling every parking space is a must, but even more so in the future. The current situation has made fundamental changes in the way that we interact with other people, and touchless solutions are preferable above any others.”
Joan Sarda, Marketing Manager at Circontrol
“Car parks will play a very important role in smart cities, in several different ways. For instance, as a communication hub and to create energy efficiency to balance the energy required, based on the occupancy rate. So parking is going to be very important in developing and providing different services around cars.”
