Our shared quest to achieving urban mobility intelligence.

5 min read

Urban mobility is a growing phenomenon that has and will continue to shift how we get from point a to point z and everywhere in between. Not only is it the way people, goods and services move through a city, but it is also a result of technological collaboration to make cities safer, keep traffic flowing, improve energy efficiency and reduce our carbon footprint. Parking and mobility are at the centre of it all. Why? Parking connects people to their destination points and is at the center of our day-to-day mobility.

Parking is central to urban livelihood. 85% of the time, our commutes involve driving and parking before arriving at our destinations. This is the reason why the global parking industry over the last five years rebranded itself as the parking and mobility industry. Moving people through mobility services such as parking and transit and creating the proper infrastructure based on technologies that enable digital solutions is crucial to achieving urban mobility intelligence. Ensuring people are easily connected and can easily navigate through a city, with access to services or the ability to effortlessly engaging with their local government or workplace is vital—and this is done with technology.

Smart parking solutions allow us to efficiently, safely and quickly find parking. At the same time, connect our parking to the rest of our day—whether it's EV charging, booking airport lounge service, or dinner reservations nearby. Urban mobility is prevalent in how parking operators aim to create a seamless journey for their customers by integrating innovative technologies like mobile payment and reservation platforms, digital permit software, and virtual customer service. Parking is a key component in our journey to becoming smart and achieving urban mobility intelligence. Creating a smart parking facility has become more and more sought after, as smart buildings aim to connect their visitor journeys at all touchpoints. As buildings transition to become smart, it is only a matter of time until all entities work together to create a unified, smart city.

Getting around a city takes planning and effort, whether driving your car, ride-sharing or navigating public transportation. Smart cities with intelligent transportations systems and open data platforms are changing mobility from a chore into a service. We all want ease and flexibility. We want to get where we need to go fast and with minimal effort. We want all of our systems connected and accessible, so they're easy to maintain, oversee and evolve. These things make a location into a destination that customers are eager to return to and make a part of their day-to-day. The search for parking, for example, is responsible for 30% of traffic congestion, as vehicles circle the block countless times to find a parking space. We're said to drive on average for 2 hours a day and are parked for the other 22 hours. As more and more of the global population choose to live in urban cities, vehicle traffic increases, and so does the demand for parking. Effective parking management and infrastructure reduce the search for parking, create less traffic, increase road safety, support the local economy, resulting in greater sustainability, and contribute to our mission towards urban mobility intelligence.

With parking being at the heart of our commutes, it is no surprise that it can be integrated with more comprehensive forms of access. Urban centres have adopted a need for ultimate interconnectivity; that is why it is essential to create an intelligent ecosystem that your organization and its visitors can enjoy. Modernized readers that make a mobile-authenticated, touchless access control system will simplify access and allow organizations to achieve consistency, accuracy and ease. 

There is no doubt that achieving urban mobility intelligence is a massive undertaking involving a collective effort from all organizations, governments, and people. Like all societal evolutions, there is a starting point. The urban mobility evolution is now.

References

Digital parking permits - Precise Parklink: Parking management services. Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. (n.d.). /ps-parking-subscription-management 

Live central monitoring - Precise Parklink: Parking management services. Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. (n.d.). /ps-live-central-monitoring-iparc.

Lyons, G. (2018). Getting smart about urban mobility – aligning the paradigms of smart and sustainable. Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, 115, 4–14.

Parkedin urban mobility - Precise Parklink: Parking management services. Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. (n.d.). /ps-parkedin-urban-mobility.

Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. (2021, August 26). What is Urban Mobility? - Precise Parklink: Parking management services. Precise ParkLink | Parking Management Services. /news/what-is-urban-mobility.