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Author: Mahir Chopra, Associate Director, Digital Control Centre, Precise ParkLink

Updated: June 2024

Effective parking management balances many moving parts and competing priorities, and with so many variables, it can be challenging to get that balance right every time. Capturing parking-related data and applying predictive analysis tools, which use historical data to make future predictions, empowers parking owners, operators, and managers to make data-driven decisions to stay ahead of emerging trends.

Using predictive analysis to optimize your parking management strategy can bring about significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness. Here are four key benefits that can help you streamline your operations and make the most of your resources in 2024.

1. Perform collections based on parking behaviours.

By analyzing data from devices currently deployed in the field, such as pay-on-foot pay stations, parking meters or entry and exit gates, you can identify patterns in customer behaviour and predict how much revenue you'll be collecting on any given day. This information can help you optimize your staffing plan to cover peak demand, minimize the risk of theft by collecting cash once hopper levels reach a critical threshold, or ensure there's enough change available to handle large volumes of customers for special events.

2. Enforce when and where you need it most.

License plate recognition technology and feeds from on-site cameras give parking facility managers the data they need to schedule their enforcement activities more effectively. These technologies are invaluable in identifying transactions in violation, such as vehicles overstaying their paid time or parking in restricted areas, and where the vehicles in question congregate, helping you target enforcement where it'll be most effective.

3. Schedule maintenance proactively to minimize downtime.

Like all hardware, repeated use of parking equipment will eventually lead to a physical failure, whether an intercom button seizing or a bill recycler that jams. With the equipment manufacturer's maintenance schedule and data from the parking facility on how many calls are received, bills dispensed, or tickets issued, parking managers can proactively schedule necessary maintenance to reduce the likelihood of equipment downtime and lower maintenance costs.

4. Replenish consumables as needed.

Analyzing patterns in equipment usage and monitoring storage levels in equipment deployed in the field helps you ensure consumables like tickets and receipt paper are always full to avoid the risk of a machine going out of service because it can't issue more tickets.

To get the most out of predictive analysis, it is recommended to use a central management platform, a software system that consolidates and manages data from multiple sources, to help you keep track of all the data flowing in from the sites you manage. This not only enables you to visualize the data in a way that's easier to consume but also lets you combine two or more of the benefits discussed above by making it easier to see, for example, when preventative maintenance can be scheduled to coincide with collections, enforcement, or replenishment activities.

Predictive analysis is increasingly becoming an indispensable tool for parking owners and managers who want to improve their operations.

Reference

Bruce, C. (2022, March 16). 5 ways data and analytics can improve your parking operation - precise ParkLink: Parking management services. Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from /news/5-ways-data-and-analytics-can-improve-your-parking-operation?locale=en

Gautam, S. (2021, September 1). Predictive analytics in parking. Get My Parking. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from