Case Study
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT Transforms Its Campus Parking Program with Data-Driven Insights
Who’s Involved
Larry Brutti | Manager of MIT’s Parking & Transportation Office
Customer Takeaways
It’s an excellent tool to manage inventory. As we issue permits, we keep an eye on occupancy. With [ParkHub’s] Smarking BI, I can see that, say, MIT is at 85 percent capacity, and then I can look at individual parking areas so I can figure out where that capacity is. It helps me better balance the inventory and better move people around to lots that work best for everyone.
Larry Brutti, Manager of MIT’s Parking & Transportation Office
Summary
With over 11,000 students and growing enrollment, MIT needed more student housing. The administration planned to convert parking lots into new dormitories to meet the need. Construction was expected to reduce parking inventory by 20%. MIT worked with ParkHub to understand demand in different locations on campus and reduce parking demand in the least utilized areas. The goal was to ready these areas for development, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and mitigate congestion.
The Challenge
Reduce parking inventory by 20% over a two-year period.
Measure the effectiveness of efforts to reduce parking demand.
The Solution
Data-Driven Decisions
The MIT Parking and Transportation Office used ParkHub’s Smarking BI platform to understand demand patterns and gain insight into the parking behavior at the user group level: admin staff, faculty, and students. The parking management team at MIT used this information to discern how parking reduction initiatives affected the behavior of each user group, helping to inform future policy decisions.
Incentive Program Launched
To reduce demand, MIT restructured the campus parking program known as AccessMIT. The program’s major changes included:
- Transitioning from annual permits to daily permits
- Providing free universal bus and subway transit passes
- Increasing the commuter rail monthly pass subsidy
- Subsidizing parking at transit stations outside of campus
- Creating an online commuter dashboard with incentives and gamification
- Integration with existing programs, including carpool and bike benefits
The Results
Optimized Demand
With ParkHub’s Smarking BI dashboard, MIT parking management assessed the effectiveness of the AccessMIT incentive program. The dashboard gave the MIT team instant insights into real-time revenue, occupancy, and duration statistics for all of their parking assets. The campus saw a reduction in transactions by 19% in January 2017 vs January 2016 after the new program.
In Conclusion
MIT collaborated with ParkHub to implement a data-driven approach that transformed its campus parking program. By leveraging ParkHub’s Smarking BI platform and introducing AccessMIT incentives, the institution balanced parking demand, supported new campus development, and achieved a significant reduction in transactions.
Learn More
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Experience How ParkHub Can Transform Your Parking Operations
“ParkHub was designed to revolutionize an antiquated industry by providing an agnostic and open technology platform for finding, reserving, and paying for event parking online. As we expanded, we developed a best-in-class, mobile-point-of-sale device and comprehensive management suite, currently used by hundreds of parking operators, sports & entertainment venues, universities, festivals, & more, at thousands of locations across the U.S. With our recent acquisition of Smarking, we also offer full-scale business intelligence, dynamic pricing, and pre-paid reservation products, utilized by numerous municipalities across the country.”
Chris Elliston
ParkHub Chief Revenue Officer