Green Parking is the Future
As the human race charges forward into the future, the matter of keeping our planet clean and sustainably using the resources we have becomes more and more important. The parking industry is no exception to this rule.
Laura Longsworth, Vice President of Parking Operations at commercial real estate firm Brookfield, stated in an interview, “As everyone is talking about going green, consumers continue to seek environmentally friendly businesses.” If helping the planet through sustainable practices is an option and does not interfere with the needs of your consumers, it is worth pursuing for your company.
The search for parking spaces is one endeavor that causes a great deal of unnecessary environmental harm. An estimated 30 percent of all urban traffic is caused by drivers looking for a parking space. In addition, cities are made up of large parking structures like garages and lots that need to be more utilized and often close to empty. Parkers don’t know where they are allowed to park or the best way to find an available space and thus spend a long time searching for one.
Green parking practices work to fix issues like these, not only to help the planet but also to make your business look good, make your customers happier, and make their lives easier. Here are some green parking practices that can make a difference for your business, your customers, and our environment:
- Creating spaces for alternative fuel vehicles and incorporating charging stations
- Implementing digital wayfinding systems to help people find open spaces quickly and without unnecessary hassle
- Installing environmentally friendly LED lighting in parking garages and lots. Bonus points for installing solar panels throughout your facility
- Encouraging biking by offering ample parking for bikes
- Utilizing alternative fuel shuttles to and from your parking assets
- Allowing rideshares to park in or leave from your parking garages and lots
Reduced Carbon Footprint
Many green parking processes are already in widespread use to help reduce emissions and businesses’ carbon footprint. Electric vehicles are experiencing a surge in popularity and sales, especially as the future around petroleum is uncertain. EV charging stations have pros and cons for installation and use, but they will nonetheless be an important pillar of the parking industry for years to come.
Offering EV charging stations attracts younger and more environmentally-conscious consumers and can either be added to your parking asset for customers to use free of charge or for an additional fee. Adding EV charging stations to your parking assets allows you to tap into this younger demographic that will shape the urban landscape more and more in the years to come.
Happier Customers
Many green parking processes are already used in urban areas to ease the customer parking experience. Digital wayfinding systems are one such way to ease the finding of parking spaces by using signs that use real-time data. These systems can take the form of physical signage or a smartphone app and can make the parking experience quicker and easier, making cities less crowded and happier overall.
Boosted Local Economy
Another benefit of green parking practices in urban areas is that they can provide a sizable boost to the local economy. In congested urban areas, people often drive around for a long time searching for a space, and if they don’t find one within a few laps of a city block, they often give up and go home or to their next destination. This hurts local businesses.
This unfortunate phenomenon can be mitigated and stopped through green parking practices, such as implementing a digital wayfinding system to help customers locate open parking spaces. These practices can provide businesses with customers that would have otherwise driven right on by.
Increased Parking Revenue
Considering the above, green parking processes will help to increase your parking revenue, not just by allowing your parkers to park and spend their money but also by making them happier and more likely to repeat their positive experience.
In addition to increasing parking revenue, transitioning to greener practices will save your business money in the long run and improve your bottom line. Steps can be taken, such as replacing energy-hungry fluorescent lights with LEDs or taking the plunge on installing solar panels to continually power your parking asset in the face of changing energy costs, which can pay dividends for your company in the long run.
Offering additional, greener services, such as the aforementioned EV chargers within your parking asset, allowing bike parking in areas where biking is common, or allowing rideshares like Lyft and Uber to park in or leave from your parking asset, all can help your business keep up with the times and provide further boosts in revenue.
Learn More About Green Parking Solutions
To learn more about how you can simultaneously boost your business, make your customers happier and more content, and save the planet all in one fell swoop, speak to an industry expert at ParkHub today. Request a demo to learn how to best implement green parking solutions for your company’s parking assets.