The Days of Manual Parking Management Are Over
The era of employees manually checking vehicles in and out, using paper tickets, and accepting cash payments is behind us.
Manual parking management is inefficient and time-consuming with long wait times for customers and lacking in vital data for parking operators. Plus, manual systems mean constant guesswork, increased security risks, and a higher potential for human error.
Parking operators have too much to gain from a parking management system that is built on integration and automation. Automated parking management optimizes space use, reduces errors and security risks, and eases enforcement through advanced technology.
What Is a Parking Management Plan?
A parking management plan is critical for municipalities, stadiums, universities, and others managing large parking assets. Plans vary across office, residential, and city contexts, focusing on specific needs such as space usage, access control, and environmental impact.
A parking management plan outlines strategies to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of parking resources. It considers factors like occupancy, layout, allocation, and violation management.
What Are the Advantages of a Parking Management Plan?
The transition from a manual parking system to an integrated parking solution offers a myriad of benefits that make the implementation of a parking management plan not just worthwhile but essential.
Leveraging technology alongside a strategic parking management plan can significantly enhance the value of your assets and boost profitability for universities, municipalities, and businesses.
Here are some key advantages of adopting a comprehensive parking management plan:
Preventing Cash Slippage
Cash slippage and parking fraud are money that slips through the cracks of your business. These losses could be either through theft or negligence, but either way, they hurt your business.
Adopting a parking management plan that includes technology and automation will mitigate the losses associated with entirely manual operations. It is imperative to ensure your employees are properly trained on operating any new systems. Failing to do so could undermine your efforts.
ParkHub offers many different software solutions that can help prevent cash slippage or parking fraud at your business or organization.
- Our mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) system, Prime, and tracking system, Suite, allow for parking transactions at the point of entry with real-time data capture and processing. Suite, as a comprehensive parking management platform, also enables digital parking passes and permits that minimize the opportunity for fraud.
- CurbTrac can help reduce unauthorized parking and ensure that transactions are recorded digitally, minimizing the risk of cash handling errors and fraud by facilitating better management of curbside spaces and integrating with payment systems.
Accelerating Ingress and Egress
When parkers go to park their car, the last thing they want to do is wait in line for a parking spot or circle the lot looking for an open space.
Slow ingress and egress – the act of entering and exiting, respectively – are the main causes of a poor customer experience.
Addressing slow ingress and egress in your parking facilities is crucial because a negative parking experience can significantly deter patrons from returning or spending at your establishment in the future.
Prioritizing the needs of your parkers is essential when devising a new parking management strategy. Identifying and addressing the root causes of delays, such as overcrowding, unclear signage, or cumbersome payment processes, is key to avoiding efforts to fix what is not broken.
To combat slow ingress and egress, consider implementing digital wayfinding technologies, including electronic signage and designated rideshare loading and unloading zones. Additionally, implementing a swift and straightforward payment system will streamline the parking process, enabling your patrons to proceed with their activities with minimal disruption.
Automating Pricing
Implementing an automated pricing system is one easy way to ensure your company or organization is maximizing its parking revenue. If your organization has implemented a constant price model for its parking spaces, you are missing out on revenue.
An automated pricing system dynamically adjusts parking rates based on real-time and forecasted demand for spaces within your parking facilities. Utilizing current data, it creates a flexible pricing strategy that optimizes revenue per space.
During periods of high demand, parking space prices increase to capture revenue opportunities and control occupancy levels. During times of low demand, rates become more competitive to attract more customers.
Implementing ParkHub’s Automated Yield Management (AYM) alongside a dynamic pricing model has led to remarkable outcomes, including a 163% surge in revenue and a 50% increase in parking space occupancy during traditionally low-demand periods.
With seamless integrations, the AYM system is capable of updating rates multiple times daily, tailoring them for different time slots based on the data provided. This strategy not only maximizes revenue but also ensures comprehensive control over parking assets.
Unifying Disparate Parking Systems
When improving your parking management plan, take stock of the parking systems and processes you already have in place.
Many companies, municipalities, and universities already have parking systems for payments and data collection. You don’t have to start from square one when moving forward with new technological solutions.
However, many organizations experience disconnects due to the various systems and technologies deployed across their network. A conglomeration of different parking systems and software may cause confusion and management issues. Ensuring compatibility and integration among these systems allows operators to streamline operations and enhance overall efficiency.
Fortunately, many contemporary parking solutions are designed to provide seamless integrations with a wide range of existing parking systems and technologies.
Smarking BI offers extensive integrations with various sources, including Parking Access and Revenue Control Systems (PARCS), mobile applications, and meter systems, among others. By centralizing relevant data and information in one concise location, Smarking BI simplifies access and analysis for making decisions.
Optimizing Occupancy
Optimizing parking space occupancy should be a big piece of your parking management plan. By implementing an automated parking management system, you can record data on occupancy trends within your asset and use that information to enhance efficiency and user experience.
Incorporating advanced technologies, such as sensors and cameras, is an important part of the process. These tools assist in detecting available spaces and directing drivers to them. When combined with digital wayfinding solutions – which display real-time occupancy information via electronic signage – these technologies streamline navigation in your parking facility.
Enhancing Security
Studies show that a third of all crimes in the United States occur in parking lots – about as many as 1,400 crimes per day. That statistic alone shows that security is an important element of any parking management plan.
Integrating cameras and sensors into a new parking management plan helps manage occupancy and plays a crucial role in security. Access control systems can limit entry to authorized individuals, further safeguarding facilities. Even simple changes like increasing lighting can reduce the likelihood of criminal activities.
When properly implemented, these systems effectively restrict unauthorized access and swiftly alert both the management and law enforcement authorities in the event of criminal activities.
Although hiring security personnel is effective, it comes with higher costs. A combination of cameras, sensors, access control, and monitoring systems deters criminal activities with its presence and facilitates the identification and apprehension of offenders.
Streamlining Enforcement
When devising your parking management plan, incorporate a system designed to efficiently enforce parking rules, regulations, and protocols. These systems monitor vehicle entries and exits, facilitating the detection of infractions such as overstaying or unauthorized use of parking spaces.
Enforcement in parking management has become increasingly efficient with such technologies, particularly those platforms that consolidate digital payments and scan databases for parking rights. This technological integration allows for a seamless enforcement process by providing a unified view of parking transactions and entitlements.
By scanning a comprehensive database for parking rights, enforcement officers can instantly determine whether a vehicle is authorized to park in a specific location. This accelerates enforcement and increases accuracy because it does not rely on manual checks with the potential for human error.
Immediate access to real-time data ensures that enforcement actions are based on current information, enabling a dynamic and responsive approach to parking management.
Such technology also supports a more customer-friendly enforcement strategy. It can provide drivers with instant notifications about their parking status, remind them of expiry times, or even offer options to extend parking sessions remotely.
Efficient, accurate, and user-friendly enforcement benefits parking operators through improved compliance and revenue while enhancing the parking experience for users by minimizing conflicts and misunderstandings.
ParkHub’s CurbTrac stands out because it leverages technology to access a unified database of parking entitlements, which you can tailor to your needs. This adaptable database has extensive compatibility with various security and operational systems.
Take Control of Your Parking Management
When looking to implement a new parking management plan or modify an existing one, look no further than ParkHub for all the parking assistance you need.
ParkHub’s suite ensures an unmatched parking experience with real-time data and visibility for informed decision-making. Operators can enhance traffic flow and operational efficiency through predictive analytics and offer pre-pay and contactless payment processing for customer convenience.
With seamless integrations and open APIs, ParkHub connects disparate systems effortlessly, eliminating operational inefficiencies. Experience rapid return on your investment as ParkHub’s data-driven strategies quickly demonstrate financial benefits. Plus, our award-winning 24/7 customer service ensures your parking operations run smoothly and efficiently.
Clients, from the City of Richmond to the Dallas Cowboys, have witnessed how ParkHub’s technology and support transform parking management, enhance customer experiences, and boost operational efficiency.
Ready to see the difference ParkHub can make? We invite you to take a test drive and book a free demo with today to see how ParkHub can take your parking management plan and your organization’s parking to the next level.