Industry Insights

April 2013

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This year marks our 30 anniversary! To celebrate this milestone, we will feature articles covering a wide range of
parking-related topics focusing on how parking has evolved over the last 30 years...and whats in store for the future.

Successful Strategies for Selecting Your Next

Parking Technology

By Matthew InmanVice President of Studies & Operations Consulting

Off-street parking technologies have come a long way in the past few decades. When I started
working in the parking industry, our access and revenue control technologies were rather
unsophisticated. We used barium ferrite access cards, transient parking tickets were processed
manually using standard cash registers, single-space meters were me- chanical, and we didnt
have centralized control software. This limited set of tools made efficient facility management
and revenue control challenging to say the least.
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These dated equipment and operating methods are a far cry from what wed recommend
today, with a much broader spectrum of technology options available to parking professionals.
Some technologies that have gained much wider use include Automatic Vehicle Identification
(AVI), License Plate Recognition (LPR), ad-
vanced multi-space meters, automated cashiering devices, parking
guidance systems, a variety of web-based applications, and robust
management software.

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Selecting Your Next Parking Technology
continued...
These innovations have improved parking AVI tags, or transient customers using
operations effi- ciency, strengthened revenue automatic pay sta- tions and paying by cell
control, increased the amount of information phone, parking technologies will majorly impact
available to parking managers, and opened the customer experience.
new avenues for improved customer service.
In this world of new ideas and fast-changing
The parking environment and its operational technologies, it is vital that you make wise
dynamics continue to change as application of choices in selecting your parking access and
these technologies expand and new revenue control systems (PARCS). Those choices
approaches take hold. It may become must be based on a sound operating plan that
commonplace to see LPR used for overall meets the specific needs of your customers,
access in addi- tion to revenue control, a wider providing conveniences that are meaningful and
use of smartcards, new parking reservations worth the invest- ment. You need a good fit
services, and innovative smartphone for your existing operation and flexibility for the
applications for finding and paying for parking. future. You also must be able to ade- quately
maintain your equipment, and ensure that staff
Who knows what the future holds as knows how to use it so the service you intend is
technology frame- work for transportation and the ser- vice that is ultimately provided.
parking continues to change. We already have
vehicles that can parallel park for us in
curbside spaces. Is the next step the ability for
vehicles to self-park in off-street facilities?
Robotic shuttles are en- tering the market as a
way to take your vehicle and store it in a
robotic garage. Someday your vehicle may be
equipped to drop you off at your destination
and then find available parking in a nearby
facility at the best rate! When youre ready to
leave, you can call for your car to return and
pay the parking fee automatically using a pre-
set account that is tied to your license plate
number or other identifier. Valet-level service
without the need for valets? It could be right
around the corner.

The parking environment will continue to

change but the importance of technology to
your parking operation and overall parking
program will only grow over the next dec- ade.
Apart from the facilities themselves, the only
daily interaction many of your customers may
have with your organization is through
technologies you employ. Whether its monthly
customers entering and exiting your facilities
PARCS equipment will also be one of the review industry-related publications to learn
largest purchases you make. Here are a about the newest technologies
few common contact a parking consultant for more
strate- gies you information
can use to
Know Your Budget. Get a sense of what
maximize the
various PARCS equipment alternatives cost to
impact of your
help you develop a prelimi- nary budget. Talk
next technol-
with your finance/accounting staff to determine
ogy purchase:
your budget for new parking technologies and
related purchasing costs. You dont want to go
Educate
through a Request for Proposal (RFP) process
Yourself. Dont
only to discover that you cant afford the
go into this
equipment. The preliminary budget
process blindly.
assessment should also include realistic
A tremendous
assumptions con- cerning how new
amount of
technologies will impact operational costs. For
resources are
example, the purchase of automated payment
available to increase your PARCS technology
technologies can be expected to reduce
knowledge. You can:
staffing costs, but savings in cashier labor are
partially offset by staff time to service the
review online information on
automated equipment.
vendor/manufacturer websites and contact
them directly if more infor- mation is
needed Form a Project Team. Dont try to go through
arrange live demonstrations of PARCS this process on your own. Internal stakeholders
equipment will be impacted by your PARCS-related
contact peers to discuss PARCS issues and decisions so they should be included in the
lessons learned
process. The project team should include an
review equipment used in competing
opera- tions manager, field supervisor, front
facilities
attend industry conferences to talk directly line staff (e.g., cash- iers), finance/business
with PARCS vendors/manufacturers manager, and someone from Infor- mation
Technology (IT).
Selecting Your Next Parking Technology
continued...
IT staff participation is becoming increasingly description of PARCS needs, anticipated
important because of stringent network operating plan for the facility (or facilities) that
security and data back-up requirements. will be controlled, special operating re-
External stakeholders could also be includ- ed, quirements, maintenance and support
such as local business owners, university staff expectations, IT and networking
or facul- ty members, hospital staff, etc. needs/constraints, installation and imple-
mentation responsibilities, and uniform proposal
Focus on Your Customers/Stakeholders. format requirements. The process typically
Customers are the most important part of your takes 12 to 16 weeks.
parking operation so your PARCS decisions
should address their needs. Identify who your
primary customers are and determine how new
tech- nologies could improve their experiences.
If possible, meet with them to discuss their
needs and expectations. Talk about preliminary
ideas you and your project team have about
potential new technologies and how they may
im- pact customers using your facilities.

Review Your Operation. Develop a full

understanding of your operations strengths
and weaknesses. What opera- tional
processes/procedures work well and which
ones dont? How can new technologies improve
internal pro- cesses to reduce waste, improve
efficiency, enhance cus- tomer service,
improve revenue control, and provide valu-
able management information? What
operational require- ments will impact your
PARCS needs and decisions? What future needs
could impact PARCS decisions you make to-
day? These questions can be answered by
conducting a thorough parking operational
assessment.

Conduct RFQ/RFP Processes. The

purchasing process should be clear and
efficient. Although the flexibility of your
purchasing process may be limited by local
policies or laws, the ideal process would first
include a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to
help narrow down the field of po- tential
suppliers, followed by a Request for Proposals
(RFP). The RFP package should include a clear
 preparing realistic installation and performance and ensure operational goals
implementation plans that address day- are met
to-day operational
con- straints and While PARCS technologies will continue to
enforce- ment of evolve over time, one thing will remain the
vendor compli- same: the strategies you use to determine your
ance technology needs and procure your equipment
communicating will have a profound impact on the success of
instal- lation and your organization. Predicting the future will
implementa- tion always be challenging. However, making the
timetables to cus- most of your next tech- nology purchase
tomers and
doesnt have to be.
stakehold- ers
monitoring
installation Evolving PARCS technologies will continue to
progress to offer more information, improved efficiency,
ensure goals are greater flexibility, and opportunities for better
met customer service. The strategies you use to
promoting new prod-
determine your technology needs and procure
ucts, services, and capabilities to customers
your equipment will have a profound impact on
properly training staff on the new
equipment the suc- cess of your organization. Predicting
providing additional staff during the roll- the future and under- standing the
out phase to help customers use the complexities of new technology may be a
equipment, answer questions, and explain challenge, but there IS a path to making the
new products/services most next technology purchase.
following up with staff, customers, and the
equipment supplier to evaluate system

Plan for Successful Implementation. Matt Inman, Vice

Planning for the suc- cessful installation and Presi- dent of Studies
implementation of new technolo- gies starts on & Opera- tions 1-800-FYI-
day one. By involving internal and external Consulting, has 20+ PARK
stakeholders through the evaluation, decision- years of parking carlwalker.co
opera- tions, m
making, and purchasing processes, you have
already begun communi- cating your management and
consulting
operational approach and supporting technol-
experience.
ogies. Successful implementation will mean:
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