ParkingSoft and Smarking Partner To Provide ‘Deeper’ Parking Analytics
Smarking Inc., the leading provider of business intelligence software for the parking industry, and ParkingSoft, the leading manufacturer of cloud-based revenue control technology have announced a formal partnership.
The two companies have a handful of mutual clients who have benefited from the integration enabled by the ParkingSoft infrastructure and suite of APIs. They are able to aggregate transaction level data across ParkingSoft locations into Smarking’s web-based analytics platform. They can then be combined with other data sets, including mobile payments and online reservations.
This partnership allows for detailed tracking of key metrics relevant for owners and operators of parking assets, including occupancy, revenue and parking durations, and seeks to provide clients greater insight into granular parker behavior associated with specific access groups, discount codes, validation programs, etc.
ParkingSoft’s client software is designed to make it easy to add and remove discount codes and validation tags to analyze specific parking behavior.
For example, through use of data and analytics, clients can track and measure the impact of an online marketing campaign — how many parkers did it attract, how much revenue did it generate, what was the behavior of these parkers, and how did they differ from other parkers at this location? Based on historical data, did this campaign cannibalize any of the transient demand the location would have received otherwise?
The goal of the partnership is to enable parking professionals to answer these types of questions quickly and effectively across their portfolios, without the need for tedious Excel report manipulation, shortening the time to make business decisions, and enabling active management of their parking portfolio.
“ParkingSoft is pleased by the joint integration … on a formal basis,” said CEO Michael Canzian. “We’ve been impressed with Smarking’s software development and as a strong software company ourselves, we understand the need to enable our clients to make the most of their parking data.”
“We are very excited to be formalizing our relationship with ParkingSoft,” said Smarking CEO Wen Sang. “We’ve enjoyed working with Michael and his team — their cloud-based infrastructure makes it easy to integrate into platforms like ours.”
In the future, the firms hope to collaborate to promote innovation in the parking industry. As the pace of change in the industry accelerates — cashless payments, online reservations, dynamic pricing, etc. — the need for deep collaboration between technology firms heightens, the executives said.
[Sources: Smarking, ParkingSoft]
London Borough Using Public Space Protection Orders To Cut Dangerous Parking by Parents Around Schools
The London Borough of Havering has introduced fixed penalty notices (FPNs) to crack down on dangerous driving and parking during the school run. This is the first pilot program of its kind to use public space protection orders (PSPOs) making anti-social driving a criminal offense in areas around schools.
To enforce the new program, a Videalert CCTV-based traffic enforcement and management system has been installed as part of an initial pilot contract awarded to OpenView Security Solutions.
Councillor Osman Dervish, cabinet member for community safety at the London Borough of Havering, believes that the deterrent of potential criminal proceedings is the best way to improve road safety during school time. He commented:
“Irresponsible behavior from a minority of parents created an unsafe environment for the majority of parents and their children. Hearts and minds campaigns, 1,200 parking tickets, excellent school travel planning and letters from the children themselves pleading for a change in behavior have all failed to create a safe environment in and around our schools.”
As part of the pilot project, 33 cameras have been installed by OpenView Security on streets around the first four schools to monitor all areas and not just the “keep-clears.” Videalert was the preferred supplier considered able to meet the requirements for capturing offending vehicles within the restricted PSPO zones.
In addition, Videalert’s solution allows multiple cameras to use a single RDS “processor up a pole” unit. This significantly reduces costs, as well as the level of “street furniture” that has to be installed and supported. Video evidence packs are automatically compiled for review by Chipside Ltd. staff to ensure that they are 100% correct, with all evidential quality video images before penalty notices are issued.
[Source: Videalert]
SpotHero Launches ‘For Business’ To Help Manage Parking Expenses
SpotHero, which helps drivers find, book and save on parking, has launched a new way for businesses and their employees to manage parking expenses. The SpotHero For Business product is the first in-app solution to seamlessly submit parking receipts into expense management platform Concur.
Previously, employees driving for work had to keep copies of their parking receipts and submit them manually, which was time-consuming and prone to error. SpotHero For Business is designed to save employees time and empower businesses with increased visibility into parking related expenses.
“Businesses have had tools for managing airline, hotel, rental car and ground transportation expenses for years, but until now there hasn’t been a robust solution to manage $3 billion in annual reimbursed parking expenses,” said Elan Mosbacher, VP of Strategy & Partnerships for SpotHero. “[This] will make finding, paying for and expensing parking easier, faster and more cost-effective for employees who drive for work.”
Initial features of SpotHero For Business include:
• In-App Business Profiles: Lets employees using the SpotHero app directly charge their corporate card for parking and automatically submit receipts to their expense management platform.
• Business Admin Dashboard: Provides businesses with parking expense management tools, including inviting employees to use SpotHero and access to reporting on parking reservations and other relevant data.
“Business travelers often do everything from their mobile phones, so it’s no surprise that mobile apps are the preferred way to make travel and transportation related purchases,” said John Gibbon, Vice President of Platform at Concur. “[Our] integration with SpotHero For Business saves time for employees, improves reporting, and provides companies with a critical view into parking expenses.”
Employees of more than 10,000 businesses currently use SpotHero for their parking needs. It gathered input from travel managers and employees at more than 200 companies nationwide over the past year to develop and launch its For Business product.
A Fortune 100 client using a beta version of SpotHero For Business estimates saving more than $750 per employee per year on transportation, thanks to better visibility into parking related expenses.
Employees at companies participating in the pilot reported reduced stress getting to meetings, time savings on expense reports, and overall satisfaction around securing convenient parking near downtown meetings, hotels and airports.
[Source: SpotHero]
Transportation Report Projects 7 Million Drivers Will Shift to Autonomous Vehicles in 3 U.S. Cities
A study by transportation, economics and urban planning experts has found that ridesharing and ride-sourcing services using autonomous vehicles (AV) could shift millions of drivers away from personal cars in major U.S. cities.
“Driverless Future: A Policy Roadmap for City Leaders,” the study prepared by Arcadis, HR&A Advisors and Sam Schwartz Consulting, shows that the move to ridesharing and ride-sourcing services that don’t have a driver could cause a shift of up to 60% (3.6 million cars) from traditional to autonomous vehicles in the New York metro area alone over the next 15 to 20 years.
The Los Angeles metro area could see a shift of up to 44% (2.2 million cars), and the Dallas-Ft. Worth metro area could see a shift of up to 31% (nearly 1 million cars).
These shifts of nearly 7 million drivers to autonomous vehicles across three diverse metro areas illustrate how cities across the U.S. could be greatly impacted and reveals the significant effect of driverless services contemplated by companies such as Uber and Lyft.
To help cities prepare for such profound changes in daily life, Arcadis, HR&A Advisors and Sam Schwartz Consulting are offering a policy road map for complex issues related to autonomous vehicles and their potential impact on equity, public transit, parking, land use and real estate development.
To prepare for this driverless future, the report identifies six priorities for city leaders:
1. Leverage technology to enhance mobility: Cities and private partners should embrace smartcards, open data and universal apps. This would allow riders to compare, book and pay for trips that combine buses, trains, bikes and ridesharing. Pilot programs are in place in cities ranging from LA to Helsinki.
2. Prioritize and modernize public transit: Cities and transit agencies should focus on high-ridership, high-frequency light rail and bus rapid transit systems, while driverless shuttles provide first- and last-mile connections for riders. Similar shuttles are being tested in London and Singapore.
3. Implement dynamic pricing: To reduce congestion and create a level playing field between public and private transportation, cities should consider dynamic road pricing plans that vary by origin and destination, number of passengers, congestion and/or household income. This can be implemented through proven tools such as congestion pricing, zone pricing, vehicle-miles traveled fee, etc.
4. Plan for mixed-use, car-light neighborhoods: AV can unlock demand for living and working in mixed-use neighborhoods – whether they are urban or suburban. To shape this demand, cities need to plan for and incentivize mixed-use development, overhaul parking requirements, and reevaluate new transit projects.
5. Encourage adaptable parking: Fewer personal cars means fewer parking spaces, especially in city centers where much of the land use is taken by parking garages or lots. Parking garages need to be built with housing or office conversion in mind and include level floors, higher ceiling heights and centralized ramps. These future-proof garages are being contemplated in Boston and Nashville.
6. Promote equitable access to new jobs and services: To support disadvantaged populations, cities must encourage public and private operators to provide alternative payment methods, access via dial-a-ride and equitable service coverage. Cities and private partners must also create new employment and training opportunities for drivers and others in legacy occupations.
“Left unregulated, the popularity and affordability of driverless cars may have the opposite effect for cities by increasing congestion, encouraging sprawl and exacerbating growing inequalities,” said Peter Glus, Arcadis North American Cities Director. “Additionally, public agencies may face lower transit ridership, resulting in lost revenues from transit tickets, parking fees and other once-reliable revenue sources.”
“When ride-hailing apps like Uber and Lyft burst onto the scene, they disrupted the decades-old mobility networks of taxis, and now, left unchecked, public transit – our greatest urban mobility asset – may be next,” said Joe Iacobucci, Shared Mobility Practice Leader and Director of Transit for Sam Schwartz Consulting. “The call to act is now even greater for city leaders to ensure ride-sourcing companies create a dynamic, multimodal lifestyle that complements a fixed-route, public transit network.”
[Source: Arcadis U.S. Inc.]
