In December 2018 I made some predictions. I noted at the time that predictions were easy to make, since no one really checked up a year later as to how you did. Well I tripped over these predictions while reading some past blogs, and I repeat them here for your edification. Remember — these were made for New Years 2019.
At this time of year we are supposed to write stories about the future. I can do that. It’s easy. I can say whatever I want, and a year from now everyone will have forgotten all about it. No one will pull my prognostications off the world wide web and show me just how wrong I was.
I predict for 2019:
- There will be more consolidation in the parking operator side of the industry. VC inflow will enable huge purchases.
- At least one of the largest legacy companies will be gobbled up by a smaller competitor.
- On street technology – you know – meters, enforcement, pay by cell will see a brand-new company. It will threaten the existing suppliers
- License Plate Recognition will continue to lead the way in garage access control. Pricing for the technology will plummet, making it affordable for even the smallest locations.
- There will be an entirely new way to manage large parking facilities. Operators will lease a portion of a garage and that portion (number of spaces) will change based on time of day, day of week, and the weather.
- Autonomous vehicles will slowly fade from the headlines as it will begin to be understood that self-driving cars are more difficult to actually build than to think about.
- Hollywood will make a movie that people living in flyover country will want to see.
- California will put the “bullet train” on indefinite hold.
- San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland will figure out ways to deal with their homeless problem.
- Google will become an active player in the parking industry.
- Parking will not have a seat at the ‘mobility’ table because we will continue to be too busy parking cars to care.
- I will permanently lose 15 pounds.
- There will be a technology, previously unannounced, that will force a reevaluation of just how we manage parking operations.
There – remember, you have to hold me to this in December 2019.
How did I do? I will confess I didn’t lose the 15 pounds. However, the rest — Not bad if I do say so myself.
JVH
